Power and Negotiation in a University/Community Partnership Serving Jewish Teen Girls

University/community partnerships involve collaborative work with great potential and risk. This work can allow for productive exchanges that improve the quality of programs and enable broader dissemination of innovative ideas and practices grounded in feminist and social justice ideals. However, institutional demands and individual commitments introduce complications. This paper examines the complex power dynamics that emerge from cross-institutional partnering and program delivery in the context of a feminist education and youth-led participatory action research program for Jewish teen girls. Specifically, we examine the previously under-studied topic of university/community collaboration in which the participating institutions are similarly situated in structures of power. We explore how power dynamics and the partners’ shared and differential strategic goals were negotiated within a context of distinct institutional mandates, with a focus on the pressures of time, funding, and developing youth participatory action research with relatively privileged youth. We discuss implications and strategies for navigating complex university/community engagements that enable balanced, long-term, and sustained partnerships in which mutual interests are served

A national survey integrating clinical, laboratory, and WASH data to determine the typology of trachoma in Nauru.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of trachoma in several Pacific Islands differs from other endemic settings, in that there is a high prevalence of clinical signs of trachoma, particularly trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF), but few cases of trichiasis and limited evidence of ocular chlamydial infection. This so-called "Pacific enigma" has led to uncertainty regarding the appropriate public health response. In 2019 alongside Nauru's national trachoma population survey, we performed bacteriological and serological assessments of children to better understand the typology of trachoma and to determine whether there is a need for trachoma interventions. METHODS: We used two-stage cluster sampling, examining residents aged ≥1 year and collecting household-level water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) variables. Children aged 1-9 years provided conjunctival swabs and finger-prick dried blood spots to investigate the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acid and anti-Pgp3 antibodies, respectively. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In 818 participants aged 1-9 years, the age-adjusted TF prevalence was 21.8% (95% CI 15.2-26.2%); ocular C. trachomatis prevalence was 34.5% (95% CI 30.6-38.9), and anti-Pgp3 antibody prevalence was 32.1% (95% CI 28.4%-36.3%). The age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of trichiasis in ≥15-year-olds was 0.3% (95% CI 0.00-0.85), but no individual with trichiasis had trachomatous scarring (TS). Multivariable analysis showed an association between age and both TF (OR per year of age 1.3 [95% CI 1.2-1.4]) and anti-Pgp3 positivity (OR 1.2 [95% CI 1.2-1.3]). There were high rates of access to water and sanitation and no WASH variable was associated with the presence of TF. CONCLUSIONS: TF, nucleic acid, and age-specific antibody prevalence collectively indicate that high levels of C. trachomatis transmission among children present a high risk of ocular damage due to trachoma. The absence of trichiasis with trachomatous scarring suggest a relatively recent increase in transmission intensity