Students delivering health care to a vulnerable Appalachian population through interprofessional service-learning

Outcomes From an Interprofessional Geriatric Outreach and Training Program

Background and Objectives

Interprofessional education (IPE) is necessary to train health care professionals to work collaboratively for the care of older adults. Geriatric Outreach and Training with Care! (GOT Care!) was an innovative academic training program designed to provide an IPE opportunity for health care students and faculty while providing care to community-dwelling older adults. The objectives of this program evaluation were to: (a) examine students’, older adult participants’, and primary care providers’ (PCPs) perceptions toward their participation GOT Care! and (b) examine patient outcomes to identify program strengths and areas for improvement.

Research Design and Methods

Formative and summative program evaluation methods were utilized to evaluate student, older adult participant, and provider perceptions of participating in GOT Care!. A total of 221 pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, social work, medicine, and public health students from a single public university in northeastern United States, 38 community-dwelling older adults, and 33 PCPs were included. Means, standard deviations, and percentages were computed for survey data. The contextual data gathered from interviews and open-ended questions were analyzed using Borkan’s immersion–crystallization approach to generate themes.

Results

Overall, the students, older adults, and PCPs appreciated GOT Care!. Students reported learning about the unique challenges to geriatric care and how to communicate with other professionals. The older adults appreciated the thorough interprofessional assessment and that the students could learn from them. The PCPs noted the unique insights into their patients’ health that would not present at a typical office visit.

Discussion and Implications

GOT Care! leveraged academic and community partnerships to provide an IPE opportunity and care to vulnerable older adults. Positive outcomes such as older adult, student, and PCP satisfaction, and a reduction in emergency department visits support ongoing utilization and evaluation of these IPE programs.

Impact of an Interprofessional Health Student Education Program on Older Adult Participants

Training health professional students to work with older adults will improve future workforce capacity to meet growing needs. Additionally, older adults may benefit from health education and interactions with health professional students. We analyzed survey responses from older adults who had participated in an interprofessional health student education program regarding their experiences. Qualitative data were summed and averaged, and quantitative survey data were analyzed with Fisher’s Exact Test. At least 60% of participants reported receiving information for health needs or making changes to physical activity, dental care, or diet. The most significant differences in lifestyle modifications were noted among racial and ethnic minorities and among speakers of different primary languages. 64% of the qualitative responses reflected positive affirmation of the program. Our data suggest that interactions with health students are meaningful experiences for older adults, are associated with healthy habit changes, and reflect demographic differences in response to health education.

"I learned that I am loved": Older adults and undergraduate students mutually benefit from an interprofessional service-learning health promotion program

Although benefits of service-learning and interprofessional education (IPE) have been well documented to be effective for students in gerontology, few curricula appear to integrate both aspects into a single experience for undergraduate students in public health. We discuss the development and implementation of an IPE service-learning health promotion program embedded within two different departments at a mid-sized university. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams and acquired IPE learning outcomes while they engaged in their first experiences working with diverse older adults at a low-income independent-living housing community. Twenty-five students each team-taught two sessions on nutrition, physical activity, and stress reduction techniques in a 10-week program. Qualitative and quantitative results showed significant learning outcomes from the students about the needs of the aging population and increased comfort working with seniors. Older participants in the program also reported positive health and psychological outcomes from participation. Challenges, next steps, and recommendations are also discussed.

Perceptions of Nursing in Appalachia: A State of the Science Paper

INTRODUCTION

Nursing practice is continuously evolving in response to global health care need, sociopolitical culture, and advancing medical knowledge necessitating ongoing evaluation of professional practice. The purpose of this state of this science paper was to explore current perceptions of nursing and critique the depth of knowledge specific to nursing practice in the Appalachian region.

METHODOLOGY

A review of the literature in multiple databases was conducted to explore perceptions of nursing in Appalachia.

RESULTS

Categories of perception included the following: (a) perceptions of nurses and education leaders that practice in the Appalachian region, (b) perceptions of communities of Appalachia and Appalachian health care systems, and (c) perceptions of patients possessing inherent cultural characteristics of the Appalachian region.

DISCUSSION

None of the literature specifically addressed perceptions of nursing. Much of the available literature was over 5 years old. A significant deficiency in understanding perceptions of nursing in Appalachia was identified.

Accelerated RN-to-BSN Service-Learning Program Serves the Vulnerable

The definition, implementation, and benefits support the value of service-learning for nursing education. However, accelerated RN-to-BSN programs may have difficulty requiring service-learning experiences. This article offers a biblical rationale for service with vulnerable populations and an example of how service-learning is implemented into the curriculum of an accelerated, nontraditional, online/onsite RN-BSN completion program at a Christian university.

An Assessment of Service-Learning in 34 US Schools of Pharmacy Follow Up on the 2001 Professional Affairs Committee Report

Objective. To determine if the service-learning components used at a convenience sample of schools and colleges of pharmacy meet the intent of the 2001 AACP Professional Affairs Committee (PAC) report. Methods. An online questionnaire was used to survey faculty members or staff involved with service-learning education at their school of pharmacy. Questions addressed aspects of service-learning including types of activities used, duration of student involvement with community partners, and association of learning objectives with service-learning activities. Results. The majority (85.3%) of respondents reported their institution used service-learning. Activities reported as part of service-learning ranged from working at health fairs to involvement with pharmacy school recruitment. More than half (64.3%) of service-learning activities involved long-term interactions with one community partner, and 74.1% of respondents indicated there was always an opportunity for student reflection on the service-learning activity. Conclusion. There is increasing though inconsistent application of PAC guidelines regarding service-learning.

Peers, stereotypes and health communication through the cultural lens of adolescent Appalachian mothers

The purpose of this study was to understand how young Appalachian mothers retrospectively construct sexual and reproductive health communication events. Sixteen in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with mothers between the ages of 18 and 22 from the South Central Appalachian region of the USA. Findings indicate that within this population, peer influence, stereotypes medical encounters and formal health education are experienced within a culture that exhibits tension between normalising and disparaging adolescent sexuality. Theoretical and applied implications acknowledge the role of Appalachian cultural values, including egalitarianism, traditional gender roles and fatalism, in understanding the social construction of young people's sexuality in this region. Practical implications for sexual education and the nature of communication in the healthcare setting can be applied to current education curricula and medical communication practices. We suggest that future programmes may be more effective if they are adapted to the specific culture within which they are taught.