Tyrabia Womble is the Strategy, Evaluation, and Learning Associate for KHA. Before joining the organization, she completed her Master’s degree in Public Health Policy, Law, and Ethics at The University of Virginia. Here she describes how the thesis she completed in 2018 ties to the work she does now.
Photo from Serpstat, via Pexels.com
During the beginning of my Master’s coursework, my least favorite classes were those structured around data analytics. In the earlier phase of my program, I viewed myself more as an advocate versus a data analyzer or researcher. In my mind, these titles weren’t synonymous and I truly felt that I could be an advocate without having to understand SAS, STATA, or any other statistical analysis software.
As my program progressed and my understanding of research, analytics, and grass-roots movements increased, I had two realizations that significantly changed my career interests and challenged my flawed assumption: 1) data is pervasive and persuasive and 2) data can be used to improve health outcomes and the quality of life experienced by communities of color.
Shortly after this realization, I began my thesis research project that was a nexus between data, community action, and advocacy.
My thesis project was a needs assessment of a neighborhood nursing clinic in Charlottesville, Virginia, that served the residents of a public housing community. The Nursing clinic was built in 1995 to mitigate the residents’ barriers to resources and access in acting as a neighborhood-based health service facility. Until January of 2017, the Clinic building was an invaluable hub of support and source of primary healthcare for residents who might not have otherwise received comparable care.
The timeliness of my study was unparallel as it came upon the death of the clinic’s nurse, Dr. Holly Edwards, and the announcement of the loss of financial support for clinical staffing. In light of her passing in January 2017, the stability and longevity of clinical services offered, and the roles of various supportive entities became areas of concern for the residents and various advocacy groups.
Unfortunately, the whispered concerns became a harsh reality as there were no sustained clinical services within the clinic’s service area from the time of Dr. Edwards death until after the conclusion of my study in early 2019.
As the primary researcher for the project, I partnered with this advocacy group and a taskforce to identify the public housing residents’ priorities for the future operation of the clinic building. The results from the needs assessment categorized the residents’ priorities into three overarching themes: 1) clinical services, 2) emotional and support services, and 3) coordination services. The main priority for residents was the reinstatement of clinical services, while emotional and support services were the least prioritized.
The findings, infused with CBPR principles were used by the task force to allocate and manage resources for the clinic and used to inform the hiring process for a New Nurse Practitioner who would be able to provide the community-specific needs outlined by my research. The job description was created based off the resident’s concerns highlighted by the study. Most recently, local officials used my recommendations to create an additional job position that would further meet the needs of the community and improve their health outcomes.
This project and its outcomes proved to be a form of data-driven advocacy. The data from my project was a valuable tool in engaging various stakeholders to understand, discuss, and drive communal solutions to improving health outcomes.
My work for the research project and with KHA furthers the importance of data in improving the lives of marginalized populations and achieving racial equity on individual, community, and societal levels. All too often, minority racial groups and lower-income populations are underrepresented within research data.
There is a vital need for more research on issues concerning these groups to inform policy changes that can improve the quality of life experienced. If you’re interested in learning more methods of how to incorporate data into your advocacy, please check out the following resources:
https://www.advancementprojectca.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/11/GoodDataGoodDecisionMaking_CBOs.pdf