Abstract
Introduction: Community resilience refers to the capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from extreme events1. While community leaders, health departments, faith-based organizations, and other agencies can greatly influence an area’s socioeconomic, physical, and mental well-being2, building capacity through community competence involves interprofessional collaboration, community action, and empowerment3.
Methods: This qualitative study investigated the collaborative response by healthcare and community leaders to the recent pandemic in a rural North Carolina county. A community competence framework guided the inquiry by exploring the extent to which participants collaborated to identify problems, establish a working consensus, determine how to reach goals, and effectively implement required actions4,5. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using Applied Thematic Analysis.
Results: Findings indicated that community leaders collaborated in data-driven problem identification and ongoing assessment of evolving needs. Working consensus was reached by forming new partnerships, establishing priorities, and capitalizing on being a close-knit community. Means to reach goals involved shared decision-making, changing practices, and employing new technology. Effective actions included empowering key leaders to direct response efforts, using a variety of methods to communicate information to residents, and getting creative with outreach activities.
Discussion: During the pandemic, intersectoral collaboration occurred in a manner not previously imagined. Local agencies forged new partnerships and worked together to address ever-changing regulations and complex needs. Issues were resolved quickly, and new leaders emerged. Interviewee suggestions for increasing community competence included creating mechanisms for rapid responses to adverse events, enhancing communication structures, perpetuating a culture of collaboration, providing transcultural education and resources, and maintaining newly formed relationships. Study strengths included using a gatekeeper to access community members, use of snowball sampling, and employing qualitative inquiry strategies to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. Implications for population-based nursing practice include capitalizing on skills and resources to strengthen collaboration, coalition-building, and community-organizing activities to support growth in community capacity and resilience.
Notes
References:
[1] Paarlberg, L.E., Le-Pere-Schloop, M., Walk, M., Ai., J., & Ming, Y. (2020). Activating community resilience: The emergence of COVID-19 funds across the United States. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 49(6), 1119-1128
[2] Prusaczyk, B. (2021). Strategies for disseminating and implementing COVID-19 public health prevention practices in rural areas. Journal of Rural Health, 37.142–4
[3] Gandara, E., Recto, P., Lesser, J., Idar, A.Z., Zapata, J., Vela, V., Castilla, M. Hernandez, L.H., Escareno, J. Flores, M., & Flores, V. (2024). Planting seeds and watching them grow: Dimensions of community capacity mode and cultural competence (Part 1). Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 45(5), 552-554
[4] Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2014). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community-oriented practice (4th ed.). Elsevier Mosby
[5] Cottrell, L. S. (1976). The competent community. In B. H. Kaplan, R. N. Wilson, & A. H. Leighton (Eds.), Further explorations in social psychiatry (pp. 195–211). Basic Books. (Seminal work.)
Sigma Membership
Nu Omega
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Interprofessional and Interdisciplinary, Public and Community Health, Competence, Rural Areas
Recommended Citation
Young, Susan E. and Duea, Stephanie R., "Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration in a Rural Community’s Pandemic Response Efforts" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 140.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/140
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration in a Rural Community’s Pandemic Response Efforts
Seattle, Washington, USA
Introduction: Community resilience refers to the capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from extreme events1. While community leaders, health departments, faith-based organizations, and other agencies can greatly influence an area’s socioeconomic, physical, and mental well-being2, building capacity through community competence involves interprofessional collaboration, community action, and empowerment3.
Methods: This qualitative study investigated the collaborative response by healthcare and community leaders to the recent pandemic in a rural North Carolina county. A community competence framework guided the inquiry by exploring the extent to which participants collaborated to identify problems, establish a working consensus, determine how to reach goals, and effectively implement required actions4,5. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using Applied Thematic Analysis.
Results: Findings indicated that community leaders collaborated in data-driven problem identification and ongoing assessment of evolving needs. Working consensus was reached by forming new partnerships, establishing priorities, and capitalizing on being a close-knit community. Means to reach goals involved shared decision-making, changing practices, and employing new technology. Effective actions included empowering key leaders to direct response efforts, using a variety of methods to communicate information to residents, and getting creative with outreach activities.
Discussion: During the pandemic, intersectoral collaboration occurred in a manner not previously imagined. Local agencies forged new partnerships and worked together to address ever-changing regulations and complex needs. Issues were resolved quickly, and new leaders emerged. Interviewee suggestions for increasing community competence included creating mechanisms for rapid responses to adverse events, enhancing communication structures, perpetuating a culture of collaboration, providing transcultural education and resources, and maintaining newly formed relationships. Study strengths included using a gatekeeper to access community members, use of snowball sampling, and employing qualitative inquiry strategies to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. Implications for population-based nursing practice include capitalizing on skills and resources to strengthen collaboration, coalition-building, and community-organizing activities to support growth in community capacity and resilience.
Description
This qualitative inquiry explored a rural community’s response to the pandemic using a community competence framework to explore interprofessional collaborative efforts to identify problems, establish a working consensus, determine how to reach goals, and effectively implement actions. New partnerships formed, key leaders emerged, and innovative strategies were developed.