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Save The Date!
Friday, Oct. 19, 2012
Please save the date for ICR's 25th anniversary celebration. For 25 years ICR has been dedicated to improving the lives of local and global communities through research partnerships in public health, education, and cultural conservation fields. Formal invitation to follow.
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Racial Disparities in Health
ICR's exhibit on Racial Disparities in Health is open for viewing until May 31st. Visitors are invited to view and interact with the exhibit that was created as part of YWCA's Stand Against Racism event in April. Exhibit viewing hours are 10AM - 4PM.
photos of the exhibit opening
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"Searching" for ICR
Use Goodsearch as your search engine, and each time you search, ICR will receive a $0.01 donation! Go to www.goodsearch.com. In the search field, type in "institute for community research" and click "get started." This will set ICR as your chosen "cause!" You can choose to register, or continue without registering. Now, each time you want to search for something on the web, use Goodsearch to help us raise funds. It's easy and the pennies add up for us!
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ICR has launched a Facebook page! By "liking" us on Facebook you will get event notifications, photos from programs, news, links, and updates. |
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
RAP
The Translation of the Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) for Drug Treatment Clinic Implementation project is a three-year study designed to adapt and pilot the RAP intervention, originally tested with active drug users, for use with drug treatment clinic patients. In the modified RAP program, called RAP-Clinic, patients who are in recovery from drug use are trained to become Peer Health Advocates (PHAs) and to disseminate HIV prevention information and harm reduction materials to their peers and other drug-users in their social networks. Assessment of key clinic characteristics that could affect testing and implementation of RAP-Clinic are being conducted in Hartford Dispensary clinics in Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Manchester, Windham, Norwich and New London, CT. The study aims to test the feasibility of the RAP-Clinic intervention by documenting modification of the implementation protocol, materials, and program design and piloting it with a small number of patients in the Hartford clinics. Piloting began last January, and the third cycle of PHA training with up to 5 clinic patients will begin in May. ICR project staff recently finished a survey assessment of organizational readiness across participating clinics. They are currently conducting in-depth interviews with clinic patients and staff to provide information about clinic and community factors affecting implementation and adaptation of RAP across clinics. Key factors are expected to include staff availability, belief in the effectiveness of RAP, competing responsibilities, and patient population distribution in the towns in and around the clinic. Findings will be used to develop a larger trial of the adapted RAP-Clinic program. more info
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CULTURE
Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
ICR's CT Cultural Heritage Arts Program manages this cross-state collaborative initiative in partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council Folk Arts Program and independent folklorist Winifred Lambrecht from Rhode Island, pairing master practitioners with qualified students who want to learn and pass on traditional art forms. The program encourages the apprenticeship learning process through regular, informal but intensive one-on-one teaching, and fosters cultural cross-fertilization throughout the region as the artists perform or demonstrate their work publicly. In 14 years, we have supported 100 apprenticeships involving 319 artists from a wide range of ethnic and occupational communities throughout the three states. Artistic traditions being learned this year include Brazilian capoeira, Lebanese folk singing, Ugandan instrument making and playing (pictured above), stone inscription carving, maritime rope making, and Narragansett Indian wampum carving. For more information and an application form for 2013 - For photos of apprenticeship projects
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YOUTH
 Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking a Success
ICR recently worked with a consortium of local organizations to coordinate a Town Hall Meeting in West Hartford, CT. The Town Hall Meeting is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)'s national Town Hall Meetings 2012 initiative. There have been 41 THMs in Connecticut and 1,502 nationwide. The West Hartford THM was held in late April and consisted of performances by local teen musicians, a panel discussion with local teen and adult experts on underage drinking, a mini-expo of 13 community organizations and the viewing of "New Year's Eve Party," a video written and performed by local teens. The teens were a part of the Community Action Research Team, a group of Conard and Hall high school students who conducted interviews and surveys on underage drinking among their peers in West Hartford. Recurrent themes from this research informed the video, which has a "choose your own adventure" structure with three alternate endings that help illustrate the consequences of underage drinking.
About 125-150 community members attended the meeting, adults together with over 40 youth. Attendees were asked to complete an exit survey, which said the event was a success: of the 31 surveys completed, 83% said the event completely met their expectations, 87% said the event was either effective or very effective in educating about the dangers of underage drinking, and 81% said they would come to another event like this one. more info
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INTERNATIONAL
 Sexual Health in India
For the past decade, ICR has been involved with a series of studies in Mumbai to explore risk of HIV among married men and women. The Research and Intervention in Sexual Health: Theory to Action (RISHTA) projects focus on strengthening key dimensions of marital relationships that prevent exposure to sexual risk. For men this has meant addressing male sexual health concerns (gupt rog or secret illness) arising from marital and life tensions, which are associated with seeking non-marital sexual partners. For women it has meant being more able to share concerns about marital problems, interpersonal violence, and life stresses such as men's search for other sexual partners. The men's study has shown positive outcomes, such as a reduction in alcohol consumption which has been shown to contribute to sexual risk. These and other positive outcomes can be attributed to intervention at the individual level through AYUSH (alternative health) providers and via a community level intervention through street theatre has also influenced "gender inequitable communications norms," towards more positive outcomes. The women's study uses a multilevel approach to change inequitable gender norms through counseling and pro-positive communications messages created and delivered by Imams through weekly prayer sessions, and via NGO staff and community events. Evaluation to date suggests that couples appreciate and benefit from the couples intervention, which helps them to address and practice shared communication about family life, relationships and sexuality and that men's attitudes are becoming more gender equitable.
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