Paper
Saturday, November 3, 2007
21
Promoting Health in Vulnerable Populations Through Collaboration on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention Projects and Creating and Sustaining Collaborative Partnerships
Kathleen A. Sternas, PhD, RN and Mary Ann Scharf, EdD. College of Nursing, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe a collaboration partnership model for community assessment and intervention, which includes strategies for creating and sustaining partnerships, that has demonstrated positive outcomes. |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify health promotion/disease prevention interventions for vulnerable populations that are derived from evidence-based assessments. |
Objectives: Vulnerable populations present health challenges to healthcare providers.This presentation describes a collaborative model of assessment and intervention that includes strategies for creating and sustaining community partnerships which has demonstrated positive outcomes for vulnerable populations. The model focuses on nursing students, agency partners, community members and faculty collaborating to assess the health needs of vulnerable populations, plan, implement and evaluate interventions that address health needs. Needs include: stress management;violence; nutrition;obesity; prenatal care; breastfeeding; asthma;childhood diseases; immunizations; alcohol; smoking; lead poisoning; safety; chronic(diabetes)/ communicable diseases(STD’s); hygiene;dental health, menopause;aging; medication compliance.
Design: Descriptive research.
Methods: Students and partners completed evaluations measuring project outcomes. Traditional(n =131) and accelerated(n=108) community nursing students and 62 partners participated.
Findings: Skills/strategies for creating and sustaining partnerships included: mutuality; trust; respect; commitment; identifying strengths; working on areas needing improvement; decision-making; communication; acknowledgement of partnership accomplishments; yearly recognition ceremony. Agency partners reported interventions decreased community health problems, improved health knowledge, promoted health/prevented disease. Interventions included: preventing teen violence program, mental illness resource manual, asthma triggers computer program, STD brochure which increased clinic attendance, watch alarm to increase HIV medication compliance. Partner evaluations: 100% agreed assessments/ interventions met community needs, findings helped program planning, writing grants. Outcomes included new health programs, increased resources. Student outcomes: expertise in caring for vulnerable population; leadership/critical thinking skills; evidence of effectiveness of interventions. Students (100%) agreed experiences increased competence in assessing /planning community interventions; 96.77% traditional and 100% accelerated students collaborated with diverse professionals.
Conclusions: Collaborative partnership model helps meet health needs of vulnerable populations, results in positive outcomes for community members, agency partners and students, and promotes creation and sustainability of partnerships over time.
Implications include educating nurses/students about benefits of collaborative model for meeting assessment/ intervention needs of vulnerable populations, improving evidenced-based care, and increasing students’expertise with vulnerable populations.