3 results
Improving community participation in clinical and translational research: CTSA Sentinel Network proof of concept study
- Deepthi S. Varma, Alvin H. Strelnick, Nancy Bennett, Patricia Piechowski, Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, Linda B. Cottler
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- Journal:
- Journal of Clinical and Translational Science / Volume 4 / Issue 4 / August 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 March 2020, pp. 323-330
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- Article
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Background:
Research participation by members of racial or ethnic minority groups continues to be less than optimum resulting in difficulties to generalization of research findings. Community-engaged research that relies on a community health worker (CHW) model has been found effective in building trust in the community, thereby motivating people to participate in health research. The Sentinel Network study aimed at testing the feasibility of utilizing the CHW model to link community members to appropriate health research studies at each of the research sites.
Methods:The study was conducted at six Clinical and Translational Science Award institutions (N = 2371) across the country; 733 (30.9%) of the participants were from the University of Florida, 525 (22.0%) were from Washington University in St. Louis, 421 (17.8%) were from the University of California, Davis, 288 (12.1%) were from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 250 (10.5%) were from Rochester, and 154 (6.5%) from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Trained CHWs from each of these sites conducted regular community outreach where they administered a Health Needs Assessment, provided medical and social referrals, and linked to eligible research studies at each of those sites. A 30-day follow-up assessment was developed to track utilization of services satisfaction with the services and research study participation.
Results:A large majority of people, especially African Americans, expressed willingness to participate in research studies. The top two health concerns reported by participants were hypertension and diabetes.
Conclusion:Findings on the rate of navigation and enrollment in research from this study indicate the effectiveness of a hybrid CHW service and research model of directly engaging community members to encourage people to participate in research.
Challenges in Recruiting Older Twins for the Sri Lankan Twin Registry
- Athula Sumathipala, Sisira H. Siribaddana, Nihal M. R. Abeysingha, Nimali De Silva, Devaka J. S. Fernando, D. A. R. K. Dayaratne, Deepthi De Silva, Narada D. Warnasuriya, Mathew Hotopf
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- Journal:
- Twin Research / Volume 6 / Issue 1 / 01 February 2003
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 February 2012, pp. 67-71
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The National Twin Registry of Sri Lanka was established in 1997 as a volunteer register. To extend it to a population-based register, we examined the effectiveness of tracing older twins by inspecting birth records and recruiting them by postal invitation and in-person contact. Birth records at a divisional secretariat reported from 2 maternity hospitals between the years of 1954–1970 were scrutinised to identify a random sample of twins. These hospitals had the highest twin delivery rates for the whole country. We identified 620 twins and a questionnaire was mailed to them. Research assistants visited a cohort of non-respondents (71) in the postal survey. These 620 twins were identified after perusing 20,700 birth records. The twinning rate was estimated at 29.95 ([620/20700] × 1000) twins per 1000 registered births (CI 27.63–32.27). In the postal survey, 37 (12%) responded and 62 letters were returned (20%). Both twins were still alive in 20 pairs, one was still alive in 15 pairs, and both twins were dead in 2 pairs. During field visits, 42 (59.2%) addresses were located. Information was available on 16 twin pairs. Both twins were alive in 8 pairs, one each in 4 pairs, and both were dead in 4 pairs and at least one twin was traced in 10 pairs (14%). Both the postal and the field survey gave a low yield. This finding is different from tracing younger twins born between 1985–1997 by using the same methods. Migration, urbanization and development in the country might have affected tracing older twins from the birth record addresses, which were decades old.
7 - Dryland Agriculture in Asia: Ideas, Paradigms, and Policies
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- By William D. Dar, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, M.C.S. Bantilan, Global Theme on Institutions, Markets, Policy, and Impacts of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), P. Anand Babu, Global Theme on Institutions, Markets, Policy, and Impacts of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), G.V. Anupama, Global Theme on Institutions, Markets, Policy, and Impacts of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), H. Deepthi, Global Theme on Institutions, Markets, Policy, and Impacts of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), R. Padmaja, Global Theme on Institutions, Markets, Policy, and Impacts of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
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- Book:
- Reasserting the Rural Development Agenda
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 04 July 2007, pp 191-226
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Summary
Introduction
Dryland ecosystems, where most of the world's poor live, are characterised by extreme rainfall variability, recurrent but unpredictable droughts, high temperatures and low soil fertility. The underdevelopment in the dryland1 region of Asia reflects the pervasiveness of poverty, as demonstrated by continuing concerns about malnutrition, migration due to frequent droughts, growing constraints of the natural resource base (water scarcity and land degradation), lack of infrastructure, poor dissemination of improved technologies and effects of government policies, and further economic liberalisation (GT-SAT Futures 2002). Dryland areas indeed present significant constraints to intensive agriculture.
The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s — with its package of improved seeds and chemical fertilisers, and enhanced farm technology and irrigation — successfully attained its primary objective of increasing crop yields and augmenting aggregate food supplies. In Asia, where the package was most widely adopted, food production increased substantially during those decades. Despite its success in increasing aggregate food supply, the Green Revolution as a development approach has not necessarily translated into benefits for the lower strata of the rural poor in terms of greater food security or greater economic opportunity and well-being. Moreover, vast expanses of dryland regions were bypassed by the Green Revolution. They had failed to attract commercial investments in agricultural technology due to small or non-existent markets.
Development planners and policymakers are now increasingly eyeing the hitherto less-favoured dryland regions, where agricultural transformation is yet to take off. Due to issues of equity, efficiency and sustainability, the need to improve the productivity of dryland agriculture has become more compelling, given that the growth opportunities in irrigated areas are being exhausted.
This paper summarises the major challenges in achieving food security, income growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability for the dryland regions of Asia. It also identifies future strategies and priorities as it highlights emerging issues that threaten the sustainability of dryland agriculture and future sources of growth.
The next section presents an overview of the dynamics of dryland agriculture. It is followed by an analysis of the persistent challenges facing it, and identifies opportunities such as agricultural diversification, trade liberalisation, the commercial orientation of agriculture, and institutional innovations. Finally, implications for policy, research priorities and development pathways are drawn, followed by a vision for Asian dryland agriculture.