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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Wambui Gathirua Mwangi, MPH¹, Joan Henkle, DNS, RN¹, Folake Odelowo, MPH candidate¹, Jennifer D. Taylor, MPH Candidate¹, and Tiffany Robinson, MPH². (1) Department of Public Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1050 Wishard Blvd., RG 4171, Indianapolis, IN 46202, 317-278-0354, ehenkle@iupui.edu, (2) Gennesaret Free Clinic, 2111 East Spann St., Indianapolis, IN 46202

This project describes a collaboration between the Gennesaret Free Clinic, a clinic that provides medical and dental care for the homeless and low-income population, and the St. Vincent DePaul Choice Food Pantry which offers food assistance to the poor. The medical clinic and the food pantry are situated across the street from each other in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Indianapolis. The food pantry's mission is to offer assistance and food to those who have fallen upon times of hardship and personal crisis. The project was conducted by three Master of Public Health students with the purpose of designing and conducting a health needs assessment of individuals currently using the food pantry. The data collected in this focused assessment provided important information needed to justify a wellness clinic at the site of the medical clinic, focusing on chronic health issues. Access to information traditionally available in wellness clinics has often been denied to low income individuals. Data was collected using secondary data analysis, focus groups, and a bilingual health needs survey administered to 144 individuals at the food pantry. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze seven items related to demographics and fourteen questions related to health status. Findings identified a low number of individuals utilized clinic services due to lack of information; a high number of individuals were not aware of services a wellness clinic could provide. Operating the free clinic on a day the food pantry was closed did not appear to be a barrier to access of clinical services.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Articulate the process needed to form a collaboration between a health clinic and a food pantry.
• Describe four characteristics of a wellness clinic which are important to offer when developing initiatives to decrease health disparities in the community.
• List five barriers to receiving health care in a large metropolitan city.

Keywords: Access and Services, Wellness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered