Two Case Examples of Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: Low Income Minority and LGBT Individuals

‘Hard-to-reach’ is a term primarily used by researchers to describe groups of people who have been historically difficult to find or contact. It is important for the public interest to include hard-to-reach groups in research because excluding certain sub-populations diminishes the ability to identify groups that potentially have the highest burden of illness and to develop an understanding of why group differences exist. Thus, the purposes of this paper are to: 1) describe the challenges in recruiting hard-to-reach population in two separate research studies; 2) discuss the strategies that were used to overcome those challenges; and 3) provide recommendations for researchers. This paper followed a case study research strategy, with the authors using two of their own research studies involving hard-to-reach populations as case studies. The research studies used in these case studies involved two different hard-to-reach groups—low-income ethnic minorities who were un- or under-insured and lesbian or bisexual women and transgender men. Two overarching themes were identified as barriers to reaching the population of interest: (1) gaining interest and (2) building trust. These themes add to the literature regarding the multi-prong approach that is needed to recruit members of hard-to-reach populations. Despite the authors having buy-in from stakeholders and a multi-prong recruiting approach, barriers to gaining the interest of potential participants included language in recruitment flyers, competing demands for time, and transportation to the data collection site. Building trust with interested study participants was also a large issue noted between both studies, especially concerning sensitive questions or cultural barriers regardless of the reliability and validity of the tools used in the study

Building Early Confidence in a Practice-based Discipline

Front-loading coursework is an area that has little exploration and yet has many possibilities that may benefit beginning or entry-level students in academic practice-based programs. For the purposes of this proposal, front-loading is an educational approach to allow for a course to be reconstructed to focus first on skill attainment prior to entering the clinical setting. The premise of front-loading skills is to allow learners to engage in experiential learning, or learning by doing, which creates a frame of reference and context that can be drawn upon once the student moves to the clinical setting. Creating a frame of reference will help promote confidence and decrease anxiety allowing the student to exemplify skills in the clinical setting and begin to move from novice to expert within the students’ frame of reference. The confidence-building model can be applied to any practice-based program in preparing learners for their discipline.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1107/thumbnail.jp

Is There a Relationship Between Gestational Diabetes and Perinatal Depression?

Perinatal depression (PND) is one of the leading complications associated with childbirth. Early detection and treatment of depression, particularly during the perinatal period, is essential for the promotion of positive maternal-child outcomes. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been suggested as a confounding factor associated with PND. Concerns associated with PND include interference with maternal-newborn bonding and long-term effects of neurobehavioral consequences. An exemplar case describing one woman\u27s experience with GDM and her subsequent complications associated with PND is presented to discuss maternal depression and its plausible association with GDM. Recommendations include universal screening with the validated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale screening tool during the early perinatal period to reduce incidence of maternal-newborn complications associated with PND and promote underpinnings for best practice