The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #59670

Enid Zwirn, PhD, MPH, RN, School of Nursing, Environments of Health, Indiana University, 1111 Middle Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5107, 317-278-0264, ezwirn@iupui.edu, Rosie May, MA, Public Educational Programs, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208-3326, and E. Joan Henkle, DNS, School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Indiana University, Regenstrief Health Center, 1050 Wishard Blvd., Room 4168, Indianapolis, IN 46202-2872.

Nursing and public health students at a large, urban, non-residential campus participated in a program that explored a previously unutilized strategy for public health education. This presentation describes a collaborative undertaking between visual arts professionals and public health professionals to assist learners in improving skills of observation, description, and interpretation through directed analysis of artwork. Public health professionals are often called upon to make assessments such as the state of the environment or the signs of disease in humans. In the visual arts much emphasis is placed on observation and description of visual information. In this collaboration, through critical observation of artwork, students learned to sharpen their assessment skills in relation to personal and environmental health. As one student said, “I now pay more attention to the environment, the way the patient is positioned, and the emotional makeup of his face than I ever did before”. Through sharpened observation skills the students have more information they can add to laboratory findings and other scientific data when making an assessment or diagnosis. Art professionals have also realized the benefits of the collaboration. After the students conducted a community assessment of the area surrounding the museum and presented the findings, the art professionals were better able to organize and direct programs specifically for the neighborhood. By providing students with multiple venues for learning and by introducing students to the “art” of observation, many will benefit from an experience in an art museum.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: 1)describe eight guidelines for public health professionals to follow, in collaboration with art museum professionals, to engage learners in depiction of health and illness in art;
• identify four positive outcomes related to client assessment realized by health professional students through focused observation of art piece forms such as portraitures and statues;
• list three institutions that have applied the technique of observation for health care providers at art museums.

Keywords: Assessments, Nursing Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.