Partnering With Community Health Workers to Address COVID-19 Health Inequities: Experiences of the California Alliance Against COVID-19.

With funding from the National Institutes of Health's Community Engagement Alliance, starting in fall 2020, 11 academic medical centers and 75 community partners came together as the California Alliance Against COVID-19 to address COVID-19 inequities in California. Using data from focus groups, statewide meetings, and a statewide partner survey, we describe how and community health workers (P/CHWs; n = 540) helped to promote access to COVID-19 information, testing, and vaccination. We highlight opportunities to promote health equity among other public health collaborators with a P/CHW model.

Adolescent Latinas' with Diabetes and Their Mothers' Understanding of Diabetes and Reproductive Health: Converging Themes to Inform a Culturally Sensitive Preconception Counseling Program.

Introduction: Latinas are at an increased risk for diabetes and reproductive health (RH) complications with sexuality and pregnancy. This study explored the understanding of diabetes related to RH, pregnancy, unplanned pregnancies, preconceptioncounseling, tight-control, and family planning among Latina adolescents with diabetes and their mothers and explored converging themes.

Method: The qualitative descriptive study used written open-ended questions (English or Spanish) with Latina mothers (n = 13) and daughters (n = 21).

Exploring the potential role of community engagement in evaluating clinical and translational science grant proposals.

Introduction: This study explored the effects of integrating community members into the evaluation of clinical and translational science grants.

Methods: The University of California, Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) engaged 21 community reviewers alongside scientific reviewers in a 2-stage process of evaluating research proposals. In Stage 1 reviewers scored proposals, and during Stage 2 two study sections convened: one a mix of community reviewers and scientific reviewers, and one only engaging scientific reviewers.

Cultural understanding, experiences, barriers, and facilitators of healthcare providers when providing preconception counseling to adolescent Latinas with diabetes.

Background: Latinas are at a higher risk than Caucasians for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (DM), as well as DM-associated reproductive health (RH) complications. Healthcare providers (HCPs) should deliver culturally-sensitive care to enhance the care relationship between Latinos and HCPs and to improve patient outcomes. This study explored an expert panel's cultural understanding, experiences, barriers, and facilitators regarding RH and preconception counseling (PC) for adolescent Latinas with DM and their families.

Hispanic parents' experiences of the process of caring for a child undergoing routine surgery: a focus on pain and pain management.

Purpose: The purpose was to understand the processes Hispanic parents undergo in managing postoperative care of children after routine surgical procedures.

Design And Methods: Sixty parents of children undergoing outpatient surgery were interviewed. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology.

The biology of caring: researching the healing effects of stress response regulation through relational engagement.

Caring, a core tenet of nursing practice, grew out of a holistic approach. Nurse theorists often note the establishment of a therapeutic relationship as the beginning point of caring, with subsequent nursing interventions reliant upon this relationship for effectiveness. Relational exchange serves as a source of either stress or healing between participants, and rarely is its impact neutral.

Women's mental health: depression and anxiety.

Sex ratios for selected mental disorders such as major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder are much higher in women than men. Anxiety disorders constitute the most prevalent mental disorder in adults, and affect twice as many women as men. Depression and anxiety exist comorbidly and along with other mental disorders.

Promoting wellness in women across the life span.

For the purposes of this article, wellness is defined as an individual's subjective experience of overall life satisfaction in relation to physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, economic, occupational, and environmental dimensions. Women's wellness focuses on those aspects of well-being that pertain disproportionately, or solely, to women. Wellness includes but is not limited to physical, emotional and social aspects and disruptions that alter a woman's quality of life, such as reproductive and hormonal issues, bone health, gastrointestinal stress, and urinary incontinence.