Community Engagement

Q1

The chosen community engagement activity for the project is the Community Advisory Board (CAB). The board plays a crucial role in understanding the specific needs, preferences, practices, habits, and concerns of the African American community aged 18 and above in Prince Georges County, Maryland. The CAB will advocate and help the community members understand diabetes and how to reduce and prevent new cases. The board will also identify the community's needs concerning diabetes management and provide the necessary support to decrease diabetes cases. Additionally, the CAB will provide input on resources essential to reduce the new chances of diabetes among African American adults in Prince George's County. The target community for the project is African Americans aged 18 and above who reside in Prince George's County, Maryland. This population was selected because African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than other racial categories, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (American Diabetes Association, 2021). The community is a suburban area in the Washington Metropolitan area, with a total population of approximately 911,000 people as of 2020, with 61.2% of the total population being African American. The median age for the residents living in Prince George's County is 37.8 years young, and many African Americans living in the community use English as their first language. The project seeks to decrease new cases of diabetes among African American adults in Prince George's County, Maryland. Diabetes is recognized as an epidemic in the U.S., with over 37 million diagnosed with the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2021). Diabetes has been associated with a wide range of health complications, including blindness, kidney failure, stroke, heart disease, and lower-limb amputation. Recent studies have further established a link between this particular health condition and some types of cancer, hearing loss, and dementia. Diabetes impacts individual/familial well-being and could significantly burden entire healthcare systems. Persons diagnosed with diabetes incur approximately $9,601 in medical expenses per annum in the country, and persons diagnosed with diabetes are likely to incur medical expenses that are more than two times those incurred by persons who do not have the disease. In Maryland alone, diagnosed diabetes costs an estimated $7 billion yearly (American Diabetes Association, 2022). The project's duration is through December 2023, but the Community Advisory Board will be a continuous effort to engage with the community and provide support and advocacy. The activities will take place in Prince George's County, Maryland, specifically targeting the African American community aged 18 and above. The facilities to be used for the project are not specified, as the CAB can meet in a variety of locations that are convenient for the community members.

Q2

Recruiting participants for community engagement activities can be a challenging task, but partnering with community organizations can make the process easier (Butterfoss, 2006). For my project, I plan to work closely with community partners to recruit participants for the Community Advisory Board (CAB) in Prince George's County, Maryland.

One strategy I plan to use is to collaborate with local churches, community centers, and health clinics in the area to help spread the word about the CAB. I will reach out to these organizations and schedule meetings to discuss the project's details and how they can help identify individuals who would be interested in joining the board. During these meetings, I will provide brochures, flyers, and other informational materials that can be distributed to the organizations' members and patients.

Another recruitment strategy I plan to use is to leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These platforms can be an effective way to reach a large number of people in a short amount of time (Latha et al., 2020). I will create posts that describe the CAB's purpose and how individuals can get involved. I will also use hashtags relevant to the project and Prince George's County to increase the posts' visibility.

In addition to these strategies, I plan to hold informational meetings and recruitment events in the community. These events will be held at local community centers, churches, and other public spaces. During the events, I will provide more details about the CAB and how individuals can join. I will also answer any questions that attendees may have. The idea will be to show how it is in the communitys best interest for us to work together.

Working with community partners is essential to the project's success as they can help identify individuals who would be interested in joining the CAB. By collaborating with community organizations, leveraging social media platforms, and holding recruitment events, I believe that we...…community engagement is critical to understanding the specific needs and preferences of the African American community aged 18 and above in Prince Georges County, Maryland, there is a risk of excluding certain segments of the population from the project. This could lead to underrepresentation of certain perspectives and needs, which could undermine the effectiveness and relevance of the project. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the community enggement process is designed to be as inclusive as possible, with efforts made to reach out to and engage diverse voices and perspectives within the target population. This could involve working with community partners and leaders to identify potential barriers to participation and to develop strategies for overcoming them, such as providing translation services, ensuring accessibility, and offering incentives for participation.

Another ethical question inherent to my project is how to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of participants' personal health information. As the project aims to understand diabetes management and prevention within the African American community in Prince Georges County, Maryland, it is likely that participants will be sharing sensitive information about their health history, habits, and practices. It is critical to protect the privacy and confidentiality of this information, as well as to ensure that participants are aware of the risks and benefits of participating in the project. To address this issue, it is important to establish clear guidelines for data collection, storage, and use, as well as to obtain informed consent from all participants. Additionally, steps should be taken to ensure that the data is anonymized and stored in a secure location to minimize the risk of breaches or unauthorized access.

Q7

The proposed dollar amount for the Total Budget of this project is $23,812.50.

Q8

The budget for the community-engaged project:

Staff:

Project Coordinator: Full-time, $60,000 per year

Director: Part-time, 25% effort, $30,000 per year

Consultants & Hourly Workers:

Community Consultants: $50/hr for 100 hours of time, $5,000

Data Collectors: $10 per hour for 500 hours of time, $5,000

Participant Incentives:

$10 per participant for 100 participants, $1,000

Transportation funds for participants, $500

Facility Rental:

$1,000 for space rental

Printing:

$250 for printing recruitment 1000 flyers and 200 table tents

Social Media Marketing:

$500 for social media marketing

Food:

$2.50 per person for monthly meetings for 100 participants, $250 per meeting, $2,500 over the life of the project

Technology Costs:

2 laptops for staff members, $2,000

5 tablets for data collectors, $2,500

3 wifi hotspots,…