Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111897

Evelyn Cesarotti¹, Rojann R. Alpers, PhD, RN², Vanessa Nelson Hill, MS, RN², and Norma A. Valenzuela, MA². (1) College of Nursing, Arizona Statt University, P. O. Box 873008, Tempe, AZ 85287-3008, 480-727-7817, evelyn.cesarotti@asu.edu, (2) College of Nursing, Arizona State University, ASU Box 872602, Tempe, AZ 85287

Arizona State University's College of Nursing implemented an MS/MPH program in 2001 as part of a tri-university agreement with support from HRSA 2001-04 grant entitled Preparing Public Health Nurses for Advanced Practice. Despite extensive recruitment efforts of nurses already in the workforce, the majority of students recruited under this agreement were new to community/public health nursing and insufficient to meet current public health needs for advanced practice nurses. County health department nursing directors identified the two main barriers to seeking graduate education: distance and time. This continuation grant seeks to decrease these barriers through use of distance education (videoconferencing) that was not previously accessible to health department work sites. The purposes of the program are to (1) increase the educational level of current nurses in the community/public health workforce accessibility by distance education through use of video streaming, and (2) continue to increase the number of enrollments new to community/public health.

Arizona is a state with escalating health care needs and critical community/public health professional shortages. The ratio of public health workers to population in Arizona is much lower than the national average, and the educational level of health professionals is also low. Advanced education for community/public health professionals is needed to prepare them for current and projected health care needs in the state, reflected in its demographics and poor health status of many groups. Arizona, rich in cultural diversity, presents a challenge in the provision of culturally competent health care to urban, rural and medically underserved areas.

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to

• Describe a graduate nursing distance program
• Discuss successes and lessons learned during program implementation.

Keywords: Nursing Education, Public Health Nursing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.