Escalante Health Center: Social Impact Assessment of an Academic Nursing Center's Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program

Academic Nursing Centers have been identified as an excellent model for nursing education, faculty research, and practice sites as well as for community partnerships. The social embeddedness and community partnership of the Escalante Health Center will be described. One of the challenges the Center faces is measuring the center's social impact in the community. Some of the information needed to truly assess the value of exchange between community partners and the Center is difficult and/or expensive to acquire. A logic model was derived from social impact assessment designs and research. The resulting maps show the flow of inputs to outcomes. They include indicators of success for each stage of the process. With the support of an interdisciplinary advisory board with expertise in economics and public policy from inside and outside the university, the logic model was used to develop a comprehensive overview of the program and to generate measures showing the impact of the Center's activities. Details on how to assess the value of a health center to the community and to students and faculty are explored and results from the different measurement tools will be presented. In addition to the direct health benefits to the community there are indirect benefits relating to education and research: The Escalante Health Center provides students and faculty with the opportunity for evidence-based nursing practice, research and education in the areas of primary care and senior wellness programs. Interdisciplinary program development is fostered and gives students a chance to collaborate with other professions from exercise science, music therapy, nutrition and social work, and to develop in partnership health promotion programs.