An international academic community partnership: A model for sustainable change

Background: The paper will describe the first two years of a successful international academic community partnership developed to provide service learning opportunities for students in the US and in the host country of Nicaragua. The goal of the partnership is to develop a sustainable interdisciplinary project that is community-driven and maximizes the number of students involved. Description: Partners include the School of Nursing in a U.S. university, the Departments of Social Work and English Language in the host country university, and a community organization in a small urban neighborhood in the host country. After institutional and community relationships were formalized and initial goals agreed upon, social work and public health nursing students began data collection for the community assessment. Community leaders shaped the approach to the community, provided introductions to residents who were interviewed, and held community meetings where residents voiced concerns. At the conclusion of the initial phase of the assessment, students presented what they had learned to the community leaders and asked for their input on future work. The leaders requested HIV/AIDS educational materials in DVD format. For the next two semesters, different groups of students worked with faculty from both universities and community members to create a meaningful, linguistically appropriate DVD. At the start of the second year, a new group of students returned to the community to administer a pre-test of HIV/AIDS knowledge and distribute the DVD. Later in the second year, another group of students returned to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, work with the community leaders on modifications and select a focus for the next year. Lessons learned: The impact of this partnership extended to students who were not able to participate directly in this international public health experience through their involvement in on-going project development. Recommendations: Academic community partnerships designed to facilitate meaningful, community-driven change benefit students and community members. Students gain a respect for the expertise in the community, and community leaders in this resource-poor environment gain access to materials and knowledge to make real, sustainable change in the health of their own community.