Online Program

329751
Developing Population Health Content in a Major Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum Redesign


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Kim Decker, PhD, RN, CNS, School of Nursing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Desiree Hensel, PhD, RN, PCNS-BC, CNE, School of Nursing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Chad Priest, JD, MSN, RN, Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, IN
Joyce Krothe, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Background: This presentation describes the use of a constructivist approach to develop community health coursework as part of a BSN nursing program’s curricular revision at a large public university. Framed within the Social Determinants of Health, a primary goal was to prepare students for practice in the changing healthcare environment by infusing population health concepts throughout the curriculum.

Description: The new courses focused on the healthcare delivery system and the impact on population-level outcomes.  In the initial year, students engaged in group learning activities including a campus initiative promoting bystander intervention to reduce health risks and an after school obesity prevention program.  In the subsequent year, students had clinical experiences still in groups but in more independent settings, such as a homeless day shelter and the local YMCA for cardiac rehabilitation. The senior year clinical learning experiences are more autonomous in specialized settings, such as home health care, hospice home care & occupational health.

Lessons Learned: Preliminary review of the first 2 years of students’ community health journals suggests that students felt empowered to reduce health risks with an increasing level of responsibility and autonomy. Scheduling and making clinical guidelines clear enough for beginning students to practice in more autonomous settings presented significant challenges.

Implications/recommendations:  Increasing levels of complexity helped students gain a comprehensive view of the nurse’s role beyond the acute care setting.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related education
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Identify alternatives to traditional acute care settings to teach social determinants of health. Discuss the challenges associated with increasing community health clinical education in a BSN program.

Keyword(s): Nursing Education, Health Disparities/Inequities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal or co-principal of multiple research studies focusing on best evidenced-based practice in nursing education. I was the principal faculty of one the courses described in this presentation. I have been teaching community health nursing clinical for the past 10 years. I recently completed my doctoral program in human development/education psychology. I am a practicing hospice nurse, working in the local community promoting maximum health to our client population.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.