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Six focus groups were convened to collect data on successful interdisciplinary community collaboration (ICC) strategies. Participants came from a variety of disciplines but shared the common identification of having worked in similar communities. Participant assignment to one of six groups was designed to insure diversity by gender and race or ethnicity. They discussed four questions received in advance. Prior consented tape-recorded sessions were transcribed and reviewed by group facilitators using a process of member checking. Data analysis utilized the qualitative methodology known as grounded theory. Results indicate that organizers must have (1) a knowledge base of strategic planning, management, and administration, (2) an intra- or interpersonal skills set, and (3) well-defined values and attributes. The Practice implications are that further research is needed to more fully explore the complexity of ICC work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We sought to assess the effects of a school-based intervention program on cardiovascular disease risk factors in urban girls. Methods. We compared heart health knowledge, health behaviors, cardiovascular risk factors, and physical fitness among a group of 442 multiethnic teenaged girls (310 experimental participants vs 132 control participants). Testing was conducted before and after a 12-week program of vigorous exercises integrated with lectures and discussions on diet, exercise, stress, and smoking. Results. Significant differences in body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart health knowledge, and whether breakfast was eaten were observed between experimental participants and control participants. Conclusions. An integrated program of exercise and heart health-related lectures and discussions had a beneficial effect on health knowledge, health behaviors, and onset of risk factors for coronary artery disease among urban girls. (Am J Public Health. 2004;94:1538-1543). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that examined the living conditions and analyzed the determinants of quality of life satisfaction among 59 Black women 75 years and older. The contextual framework of this study provide for a structure within which to examine some of the everyday issues and characteristics that contribute to life quality satisfaction for the elderly as well as the order of their importance to the subjects of this study. This framework also challenges existing policies that govern how the elderly deal with the issues of aging. This framework directly connects study findings to policy recommendations. This study sought to test the following two hypotheses: one, among African American women 75 years of age and older, satisfaction with quality of life is positively and significantly correlated with being embedded in a particularly ordered, familial and social support network, and two, physical independence and personal safety is positively and significantly associated with quality of life satisfaction. These hypothetical assumptions are based on the theoretical approaches of social phenomenology and political economy that provide the study's contextual framework. The findings indicate that satisfaction with quality of life is significantly associated with belonging to a family and social support network that includes church, as well as maintaining physical health independence and personal safety. These findings hold implications for the design of social work services to the Black middle-income elderly as well for future development of public policy that focuses on providing effective help for older Americans in all their diversity.

This mixed-methodology research examines the interdisciplinary community collaborative (ICC) experiences of 50 participants from six professions: law, social work, psychology, public health, nursing, and medicine. They came together for 1 of 2 intensive days of structured dialogue and collaborative problem-solving around a common case scenario, in both mono- and multidisciplinary groups. The main purpose of this study is to explore the similarities and differences in how this group viewed their interdisciplinary collaborative experiences. This article features the quantitative and qualitative data from a self-administered questionnaire to the participants about their perspectives on their experiences after the structured dialogue day. The article presents: (a) the mapping of the professions with whom they have collaborated, (b) their perceptions of the positive and negative experiences about those collaborations, (c) their self-reported familiarity with and their perception of the leadership roles of the specific six disciplines, and (d) their perceptions about the strengths and limitations of their own profession’s ability to collaborate with other disciplines. It includes their reflections on the day’s experience. The main findings were: (a) Participants reflected their profession’s codes of ethics in valuing, learning from, and contributing to ICC activities, (b) participants understood the complexities and contradictions of ICC endeavors, and (c) participants identified professional determinants of ICC that positively and negatively affect ICC. The article concludes with recommendations about future directions for research and practice on interdisciplinary community collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers are actively engaging in the practice of interdisciplinary community collaboration (ICC) with the goal of bringing diverse groups together to improve the conditions of communities and enhance the quality of life of population groups. Yet, collaborations are challenging and require great skill and commitment. The pedagogy and the content of curricula have become a more prominent part of teaching to macro practice students and practitioners the art of effectively convening and moving collaborative efforts forward. This article adds to the literature on the content and methods of teaching students and novice practitioners the competencies embedded in ICC. It provides empirical data from six focus groups of experienced community practitioners (social workers and others) in New York City who identified components of a core curriculum for this work. Eight months later, these 33 community practitioners were asked to reprioritize the topics and concepts that they had collectively identified at the earlier time. Skills such as the ability to share power, manage differences, include the constituency and diplomacy are among those discussed. Core curriculum themes, the pedagogy and process, and the attributes and values necessary for training an ICC practitioner are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISE- WOMAN) provides low-income, underserved women ages 40-64 with risk factor screening and lifestyle intervention and referral services to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Integrating WISEWOMAN's services with the culturally appropriate medical care and support services offered by community health centers may improve the program's ability to reduce CVD burden among underserved women. Methods: We conducted a formative assessment of the perceived opportunities, challenges, and strategies associated with integrating WISEWOMAN into community health center settings. A panel of stakeholders that included health center and WISEWOMAN representatives was convened in 2002, and a semistructured discussion guide was used to elicit perspectives about integration. We also conducted an in-depth review of WISEWOMAN's history of collaboration with health centers in North Carolina. Results: Stakeholders perceived a clear need for integrating WISEWOMAN within health center settings, indicating that centers have few other resources to expand preventive services delivery and offer effective lifestyle interventions for underserved populations. Perceived barriers to integration included competing demands on health center resources, difficulties hiring staff for new programs, and administrative burdens associated with data collection and re- porting. Experiences within North Carolina's WISEWOMAN project demonstrate, however, that lifestyle interventions can be designed in ways that facilitate integration by health centers. Conclusions: Integration strategies need to be tailored to the resources, skills, and capacities available within health centers. As health centers and WISEWOMAN projects gain more experience in collaborating, additional research should be conducted to identify how best to achieve integration within specific institutional and community contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]