Engaging the community in population based primary care

Population-based primary care is a cohesive approach to maintain and improve the health of both the individual and the community. Despite the apparent advantages of this model, engaging the community in participation presents a challenge.

The Scituate Health Alliance(SHA)is a community board, made up of a primary care physician,registered nurses and community volunteers, developing a health care system which will provide ninety percent of the health services needed for ninety percent of the community in Scituate, Rhode Island. Population-based primary care allows a medical practice to collaborate with community organizations and businesses. This collaboration ensures that town residents receive the individualized health services they may need.

Using community development strategies, the SHA is engaging the community by providing health care services such as community wide flu vaccination clinics, educational programs in local libraries and schools, and outreach in through the senior center. Currently, the SHA is utilizing senior nursing students in their Community/Public health nursing course to provide these services. These efforts are being made to encourage participation in the primary care center once it is built.

Exploration of the effectiveness of these strategies for engagement will be discussed and evaluated. The experiences of the student nurses, faculty and community members will also be shared.