Replies to the article posted by a peer (YANEMORE)

Replies to the article posted by a peer (YANEMORE)
Academic articles must include the 2019-2022 period, bibliographic reviews prior to these years are not accepted
REPLIES TO:
The Importance of Community Engagement and Education in Improving Health Outcomes:
A Personal Experience in Advocacy.
I had the opportunity to influence healthcare through advocacy during my time as a student nurse.
I had the privilege of participating in a local health fair that a community organization was putting on. The fair aimed to educate the community about various health issues and provide resources for preventative care.
During the fair, I worked with a team of nurses and other healthcare professionals to provide health screenings and education to community members. One of the main focuses of the fair was diabetes prevention and management. As a team, we provided information about the risk factors for diabetes and resources for managing the disease.
One of the main challenges we faced during the fair was that many attendees were from low-income communities and did not have access to regular healthcare. As a result, many of them were not aware of the risk factors for diabetes or the resources available for managing the disease.
To address this challenge, we worked with community organizations and healthcare providers to provide information about low-cost healthcare options and financial assistance programs. We also provided information about community resources such as free health clinics and support groups.
Through this experience, I realized the importance of community engagement and education in improving health outcomes. It helped me understand that to be effective in advocacy work, it is vital to understand the community’s needs and work with existing resources to address them.
This experience was consistent with the studies of Trief et al. (2018), which showed that community-based participatory research is a practical approach to addressing health disparities and improving health outcomes in disadvantaged communities. Also, Green et al. (2022) study stated that community-based participatory research is a powerful tool for engaging community members and healthcare providers in the research process, which can lead to the development of interventions that are more likely to be adopted and sustained by the community.
In conclusion, my experience participating in the local health fair was a valuable learning opportunity that reinforced the importance of community engagement and education in improving health outcomes. It also highlighted the importance of understanding the community’s needs and working with existing resources to address them effectively in advocacy work.
References
Trief, P. M., Mollica, R. L., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2018). Community-based participatory research: a strategy for reducing health disparities. American journal of public health, 108(2), 153–160.
Green, L. W., George, M. A., Daniel, M., Frankish, J., & Bowie, J. (2022). Community-based participatory research: its role in future cancer control research. Cancer control, 19(1), 3–8.