DENVER (Sept. 6, 2006) – Nurses earning master’s degrees in public health nursing at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center’s School of Nursing will journey to two rural southeastern Colorado counties this month to evaluate health and human services and identify strengths, resources, risk factors and problem areas.
A team of 10 nurses pursuing advanced practice specialization in public health nursing will travel to Otero and Crowley counties Sept. 24-27, where they will collaborate with local public health agencies and interview local residents to gather data that will help them with their final assessments.
“The assessment team also recommends ways local communities can improve the psychosocial and cultural health of both counties,” said Lauren Clark, RN, PhD, FAAN, an associate professor and associate dean for research and extramural affairs at the UCDHSC School of Nursing. “Our students have found this type of outreach to be particularly helpful as they expand their knowledge of Colorado’s rural public health issues, and the report we produce is beneficial to local communities as well.”
Clark and Gene Marsh, RN, PhD, also an associate professor in the UCDHSC School of Nursing, are teaching this course and will visit the area with the students. While they are in Otero and Crowley counties, the graduate students and faculty will collaborate with county public heath nurses, and state public health nursing consultants as they conduct their community health assessments.
“We always work collaboratively with Colorado counties, who help us feel welcome in their communities,” Clark said. “Without their partnership our students could not accomplish the goals of this state-mandated assessment, including the one-on-one interviews with local residents that we need to learn about the community.”
During their stay in Otero and Crowley counties, the graduate nursing students plan to interview approximately 70 area residents in civic leadership positions, those who have served through various kinds of community leadership, and long-time residents who are familiar with different aspects of community life.
Richard Ritter, executive director of the Otero County Health Department, is coordinating the list of residents likely to be interviewed, and will forward their names to students in early September. Students will then set up in-person, 45-minute guided interviews for the planned visit. Once they complete analyses of the data they gather, the UCDHSC School of Nursing team and their professors will present the findings and recommendations at the School of Nursing in December to visitors from the area.
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Front row, from the left: Bambi Haney, RN; Penny Grande, RN; Julie Kristjanson, RN; Michelle Wilson, RN; Lauren Clark, RN, PhD; and Krista Grey, RN. Back row: Peggy Rothe, RN; Gene March, RN, PhD; Cindy Benton, RN; and Kiersten Friess, RN. Not pictured: Susan Ciccia, RN; and Leah Tatasciore, RN.
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu or the UCDHSC Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.