Abstract

The assessment of patterns of behavior and factors contributing to the state of health in each community is an essential element of health care reform and will be used to develop future plans for education, health promotion, and disease prevention. A partnership was formed between Indiana Wasleyan University (IWU) and Marion General Hospital to conduct a community wide health assessment for Grant County. Teams were developed comprised of senior nursing students enrolled in Leadership and Community Health nursing courses and social work majors from IWU for conducting the assessment. Instruments for data collection were developed using Center for Disease Control guidelines for community health needs assessment. Procedures for the research were developed by IWU nursing faculty and the hospital Community Outreach Department and permission was obtained from the Institutional Review Board. Data were collected from all age gropus in a variety of settings and Spanish-speaking students were available for Hispanic participants. Frequent post conferences were held to monitor progress and provide support. Students developed leadership skills in directing the researh teams and all students gained knowledge of the research process and knowledge development from participation in the project. An IWU Honor's college student worked with faculty on data analysis that provided a wealth of information about health care needs, issues, and practices of Grant County residents. The priority health concerns were identified and results used to develop a strategic plan for future community health education and intervention for Grant county residents. Data were made available to the community of interest for utilization and potential grant writing. A plan for on-going, systematic assessment was developed from this research project to guide future collaboration between IWU and Marion General Hospital for Grant county health assessment.

Description

41st Biennial Convention - 29 October-2 November 2011. Theme: People and Knowledge: Connecting for Global Health. Held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.

Author Details

Pamela Harrison, EdD, RN; Paige Vacha

Sigma Membership

Unknown

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Health Assessments, Community Health Education, Health Care Needs

Conference Name

41st Biennial Convention

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Grapevine, Texas, USA

Conference Year

2011

Rights Holder

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All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Collaboration for community health assessment

Grapevine, Texas, USA

The assessment of patterns of behavior and factors contributing to the state of health in each community is an essential element of health care reform and will be used to develop future plans for education, health promotion, and disease prevention. A partnership was formed between Indiana Wasleyan University (IWU) and Marion General Hospital to conduct a community wide health assessment for Grant County. Teams were developed comprised of senior nursing students enrolled in Leadership and Community Health nursing courses and social work majors from IWU for conducting the assessment. Instruments for data collection were developed using Center for Disease Control guidelines for community health needs assessment. Procedures for the research were developed by IWU nursing faculty and the hospital Community Outreach Department and permission was obtained from the Institutional Review Board. Data were collected from all age gropus in a variety of settings and Spanish-speaking students were available for Hispanic participants. Frequent post conferences were held to monitor progress and provide support. Students developed leadership skills in directing the researh teams and all students gained knowledge of the research process and knowledge development from participation in the project. An IWU Honor's college student worked with faculty on data analysis that provided a wealth of information about health care needs, issues, and practices of Grant County residents. The priority health concerns were identified and results used to develop a strategic plan for future community health education and intervention for Grant county residents. Data were made available to the community of interest for utilization and potential grant writing. A plan for on-going, systematic assessment was developed from this research project to guide future collaboration between IWU and Marion General Hospital for Grant county health assessment.