Development of community strategies supporting brief alcohol advice in three Latin American countries: a protocol.

Brief alcohol advice offered to patients was shown to be a clinically- and cost-effective intervention to prevent and manage alcohol-related health harm. However, this intervention is not yet optimally implemented in practice. A suggested strategy to improve the implementation of brief alcohol advice is through community actions which would enhance the environment in which primary healthcare providers must deliver the intervention. However, there has been scarce research conducted to date regarding which community actions have most influence on the adoption and implementation of brief alcohol advice. The current protocol presents the development of a package of community actions to be implemented in three Latin American municipalities, in Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The community actions were based on the Institute for Health Care Improvement's framework for going to full scale, and include: (i) involvement of a Community Advisory Board, (ii) involvement of a project champion, (iii) adoption mechanisms, (iv) support systems and (v) a communication campaign. By presenting a protocol for developing community actions with input from local stakeholders, this article contributes to advancing the public health field of alcohol prevention by potentially stimulating the sustainable adoption and implementation of brief alcohol advice in routine practice.

Climate Change Prevention through Community Actions and Empowerment: A Scoping Review.

As society tries to tackle climate change around the globe, communities need to reduce its impact on human health. The purpose of this review is to identify key stakeholders involved in mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as the type and characteristics of community empowerment actions implemented so far to address the problem. Published and unpublished studies from January 2005 to March 2022 in English and Portuguese were included in this review. The search, conducted on PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and RCAAP (Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal), followed a three-step search strategy. Data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers, using an extraction tool specifically designed for the review questions. Twenty-seven studies were eligible for inclusion: six used interviews as a qualitative method, three were systematic reviews, three were case study analyses, three used surveys and questionnaires as quantitative methods, two used integrative baseline reviews, and three utilized a process model design. Six studies targeted local, public and private stakeholders. Community settings were the context target of fifteen studies, whereas twelve specifically referred to urban settings. Seven types of community actions were acknowledged across the globe, characterised as hybrid interventions and referring to the leading stakeholders: local governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society, universities, public health, and private sectors.

Do actions reduce perceived risk? A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between risk perception and actions in response to forest disturbance in Colorado.

As residents living in hazard-prone areas face on-going environmental threats, the actions they take to mitigate such risks are likely motivated by various factors. Whereas risk perception has been considered a key determinant of related behavioral responses, little is known about how risk mitigation actions influence subsequent perceived risk. In other words, do actions to prevent or mitigate risk reduce risk perception? This longitudinal study considers the dynamic relationships between risk perception and risk-mitigating behavior in the context of forest disturbance in north-central Colorado. Based on panel survey data collected in 2007 and 2018, the results provide a first look at changes in perceived forest risks as they relate to individual and community actions in response to an extensive mountain pine beetle outbreak. Analysis revealed that the perception of direct forest risks (forest fire and falling trees) increased, whereas indirect forest risk perception (concern on broader threats to local community) decreased across the two study phases. Higher individual or community activeness (level of actions) was associated with subsequent reductions in perceived forest fire risk, smaller increases in direct risk perception, and larger decreases in indirect risk perception. These findings contribute insights into the complex risk reappraisal process in forest hazard contexts, with direct implications for risk communication and management strategies.

Indices and Indicators Developed to Evaluate the "Strengthening Community Actions" Mechanism of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion: A Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine 1) the indexes/indicators used for evaluating the "strengthening community actions" mechanism of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and 2) to extract the characteristics and key components of the indexes/indicators using a scoping review.Data Source:In May 2020, the search was conducted across three databases: Medline (via PubMed), Embase, and Scopus.Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: All primary studies relating to development, identification, and measurement of health promotion indices/indicators associated to the "strengthening community actions" were included. The review articles were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: The data were extracted to a data-charting form that was developed by the research team. Two authors reviewed the extracted data. DATA SYNTHESIS: To summarize and report the data, a descriptive numerical analysis and a narrative descriptive synthesizing approach were used. RESULTS: In total, 93 study articles were included. A majority of studies (82%) were conducted in developed countries. Different types of recognized indices were categorized into seven groups: social cohesion (n = 3), community capacity (n = 1), community participation (n = 7), social capital (n = 6), social network (n = 3), social support (n = 1), and others (n = 5). CONCLUSIONS: Having a collection of "strengthening community actions" indices/indicators in hand, health policymakers and health promotion specialists might be able to do their best in considering, selecting, and applying the most appropriate indices/indicators while evaluating community health promotion interventions in different settings.

Estrategias de intervención Comunitaria en Salud en un Campamento Universitario Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Servicio / Health's Community intervention strategies in a Multidisciplinary Research and Service´s University Camp

Introducción: La atención primaria en salud busca una mejor salud en la población, que sea accesible a todos los individuos y familias de la comunidad, con su plena participación y a un costo asequible, mediante diferentes mecanismos dentro de las cuales están las intervenciones comunitarias. Objetivos: Describir los resultados obtenidos tras la intervención a través de consultas y visitas domiciliarias como estrategias para la identificación, tamizaje, promoción y prevención en salud. Métodos: Se creó una brigada de salud bajo el emblema de Misión Médica en Santa Cecilia, corregimiento del municipio Pueblo Rico, Risaralda, Colombia. Se realizaron actividades de información, educación, acercamiento y atención en salud para la población general de la localidad y veredas aledañas. Se efectuaron valoraciones médicas, se diligenciaron historias clínicas y se evaluó la percepción de la actividad por los miembros de la comunidad y por el personal de la salud. Se contó con el apoyo y aprobación departamental y local. Resultados: Se realizaron 606 historias clínicas, 63,9 por ciento era población menor de edad, 55,6 por ciento eran de sexo femenino. Las enfermedades de mayor prevalencia en la población intervenida fueron patologías infecciosas como parasitosis, neumonía y enfermedades transmitidas por vectores. Conclusiones: Las intervenciones primarias en salud son difíciles de realizar, requieren apoyo de equipos multidisciplinarios e instituciones para generar impacto positivo en las comunidades, es importante realizar mayor número de intervenciones comunitarias con participación estatal y de la comunidad, utilizando estrategias científicas de evaluación con el fin de establecer más objetivamente los resultados de las intervenciones(AU)

Introduction: Primary health care looks for better health indicators in the population, to be accessible to all individuals and families in the community, with their full participation and at an affordable cost, through different mechanisms, among which are the community interventions. Objectives: To describe the results obtained after the intervention through consultations and home visits as strategies for identification, screening, health promotion and prevention. Methods: A health brigade was created under the emblem of Medical Mission in Santa Cecilia, Pueblo Rico municipality, Risaralda, Colombia. Information, education, outreach and health care activities were performed for the general population of the town and surrounding districts. Medical assessments were made, and the clinical histories were used to evaluate perception of the activity done by the community members and the health staff. There was local and departmental support and approval. Results: 606 clinical histories were made. The 63.9 percent were children and 55.6 percent were female. The predominant diseases in the population under the intervention were infectious ones as: parasitic infections, pneumonia and vector-borne diseases. Conclusions: The primary interventions in health are difficult to perform as they require support of multidisciplinary teams and institutions to generate a positive impact on communities. It is important to perform a greater number of community-based interventions with state and community participation, using scientific strategies of evaluation in order to establish more objectively the results of the interventions(AU)

Reversing Frailty Levels in Primary Care Using the CARES Model.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this manuscript was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Community Actions and Resources Empowering Seniors (CARES) model in measuring and mitigating frailty among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: The CARES model is based on a goal-oriented multidisciplinary primary care plan which combines a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) with health coaching. A total of 51 older adults (82 ± 7 years; 33 females) participated in the pilot phase of this initiative. Frailty was measured using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and the Frailty Index (FI-CGA) at baseline and at six-month follow-up. RESULTS: The FI-CGA at follow-up (0.21 ± 0.08) was significantly lower than the FI-CGA at baseline (0.24 ± 0.08), suggesting an average reduction of 1.8 deficits. Sixty-one per cent of participants improved their FI-CGA and 38% improved CFS categories. Participants classified as vulnerable/frail at baseline were more responsive to the intervention compared to non-frail participants. CONCLUSION: Pilot data showed that it is feasible to assess frailty in primary care and that the CARES intervention might have a positive effect on frailty, a promising finding that requires further investigations. General practitioners who participate in the CARES model can now access their patients' FI-CGA scores at point of service through their electronic medical records.