Paper
Thursday, 20 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Evidence-Based Nursing and Public Policy: Issues Identified
Healthcare for the Homeless: A Model for Care Delivery
Margaret C. Dykeman, NP, PhD and Stacie Taylor. Nursing, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
Learning Objective #1: Discuss how to improve access to health care through the integration of the elements of primary health care and community development.
Learning Objective #2: Understand how service, teaching and research can be integrated to inform evidence-based practice with vulnerable populations.
The Community Health Clinic was opened in Fredericton, NB by the Faculty of Nursing, to improve access to health care for the homeless and near homeless populations in the city. Infrastructure for the facility is based on a model that integrates the elements of primary health care and community development. Day to day operations include a combination of service provision, teaching and community based research. Because of the integration of these three components, health service provision is embedded in an evidence-based model of care that is continuously being renewed based on an on-going evaluation process that mimics an action research approach. The facility provides a vibrant space for students of a number of health disciplines to learn as they provide services for a number of vulnerable populations, including homeless men, women and youth. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, are involved in the community research process in numerous ways. Their experience of working in a multidisciplinary team broadens their knowledge base and makes them more employable in their particular area of health care provision (i.e. they have a working knowledge of being part of a team in which the client is a major player). Research within the facility has been conducted from the more formal aspects of the research realm and from a more informal community research basis. All programs have an evaluative process based on the logic model format that informs the evidence that is being developed within the facility. The integration of service, teaching and research supports a rich environment to advance the role of the nurse into being one of the recognized key players in the provision of health care services. 

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)