ABSTRACT
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education (2021) include a Population Health domain. Future nurses well-versed in the social determinants of health are poised to be leaders, creating change to improve the lives of vulnerable populations. The Population Health Project (PHP) is an innovative learning experience, immersing student nurses in authentic interactions that impact the communities they partner with. Baccalaureate nursing students, during their Population Health course, work in groups to produce innovative, community-focused PHPs, successfully incorporating the AACN competencies. Students identify issues impacting the wellbeing of their assigned population; these issues become the focus of their PHP. They engage with community stakeholders, including their patients, policy makers, and community partners to develop evidence-based and sustainable projects. PHPs focus on reducing health disparities and address priorities important to communities, including concepts of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Examples of long-term impacts of PHPs include: legislative change - a new law mandating pharmacies provide prescription labels in a language the patient can understand; innovative policies - initiating efforts to create a hospice for unhoused patients; and new service provision programs - teaming with a fire department to co-develop a home-visiting program to reduce non-emergent 911 calls.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate , Education, Nursing , Students, Nursing , Humans , Learning , CurriculumABSTRACT
Falls are common in Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs). We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of student-led Fall Prevention Care Management (FPCM) on reducing fall risks in ALFs. Residents who were age ≥65, had a fall in the previous year Or considered high fall risk at the facility, and who had a MoCA cognition score>15 were enrolled. The FPCM interventions were semi-structured to facilitate students' learning while addressing participants' unique fall risks. Twenty-five older adults in the U.S. completed the study (recruitment rate: 55%; retention rate: 64%). Participants rated the study as 87.16 (100 = excellent), and likelihood to recommend the study to others was 80.85 (100 = most likely). Participants were 84% female, mean age 88.6 years old. Fall risks such as fear of falling decreased from 16.05 to 15.12 (p = .022), fall prevention behaviors increased from 2.94 to 3.07 (p = .048), and the level of confidence to prevent falls increased from 63.38 to 78.35 (p = .015). Students commonly provided education and coaching on fall prevention strategies, and addressed emotional and behavioral aspects of fall prevention. With improvement with recruitment and retention, student-led FPCM intervention is a promising approach for fall prevention in ALF.
