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| Intern and
Location |
Abstract of
Project |
Christine Abbott
Arthritis Education
Program
PRIMETIME HEALTH
Fayette County Community Action Agency,
Uniontown,Pennsylvania |
The number of people inthe U.S.
with arthritis is increasing. According to the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Arthritis Foundation,
approximately 43 million people or one in sixhave someform of
arthritis. The numbers will be increasing to an estimated 80
million by 2020. The purpose of the presentation was to educate
senior citizens attending the Senior Centers throughout Fayette
County about arthritis. The presentation was developed after
thorough research on the internet and pamphlets. An Arthritis
Newsletter was developed to accompany the presentation and provide
additional information. Demographic information and evaluation of
the presentations werecollected via a six-question survey. There
were 37 femalesand 13 males attending the four Senior Centers who
completed the survey. Of these participants, 80% already have
arthritis. All most all (94%) of the seniors agreed that the
presentation will help them in the future and (72%)learned
additional information. These results among this population with a
high prevalence of arthritis, supports the need for on-going
arthritis education. Seniors need to be encouraged tostay active in
an appropriate regimen to retain mobility and
independence. |
Renee Y.Gilson
Primary Health Marks 20th Year With Growth
Primary Health Network,
Sharon,PA |
Primary Health
Network (PHN) started celebrating its 20th anniversary this June.
PHN’s goal for this year is to extend their care into
other communities and to also offer more programs/specialtiesin
existingsites. There were three main projects implemented in order
to promote growth. The first was to extend care into additional
counties. Two additional sites are going to be opened effective
September 2004. In order to do this achange of scope, promotion,and
further recruitment for the two sites took place. The second
project, which took place in an existing site, was a natural health
weight loss class. Fifteen people participated in the class
wherein they enhanced their knowledge about exercise, complementary
medicine, and meal planning. Class participants started the
classwith a questionnaire on weight and self-satisfaction and also
did a body assessment. A post-program questionnaire was
administered at the conclusion of the program. The third project
involved provider relations. There has been a continuous flow of
newproviders in PHN. With all of the new providers also comes
the credentialing process and shifting of office staff to other
locations. The combination ofthese three projects and other
projects has enhanced this special 20th anniversary year by growing
the network and extending programs and care. |
Laura Hoffman
Nurse Navigator Program
Mercy Cancer Institut, Mercy Hospital of
Pittsburgh |
Although cancer
mortality has recently declined overall, there are persistent,
adverse disparities in both incidence and mortality among racial
minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. In
addition,minorities and people with low socio-economic status have
high incidence of risk factors and are less likely to be screened
for cancer. As a result, minorities tend to present later in the
disease process and experience poorer outcomes. The goals of this
planning grant were to increase the number of patients onclinical
trials in the community setting, improve access to quality radio
therapy, ensure an adequate choice of treatment approaches, and
improve recruitment to clinical research studies at earlier stages
of disease for ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged
groups. In contrast to traditional ‘outreach’ whereby
cancer centers attempt to increase referral rates to a major
center, our decentralized approach to this program will bring
services to the people who need them within their communities. We
have only just begun to build and develop this program. Over the
next five years we hope to develop and implement a successful
program involving all nearby communities. |
Dana McPhilomy
Education for the Elderly
LIFE in Beaver County
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania |
LIFE-Beaver County, a
living assistance program for the elderly, is affiliated with the
National PACE(Program forAll-inclusive Care for the Elderly)
Association (NPA).LIFE’s primary goal is to allow its clients
to remain as independent as possible while receiving necessary
healthcare at theLIFE center and in their own homes. According to
the NPA, allowing this type of independence requires a substantial
amount of client education and counseling. The purpose of the
Education for the Elderly program was to educate the LIFE-Beaver
County clients on the 5 most prevalent diseases within the current
LIFE clientele community. The Education for the Elderly program
consisted of four primary components: (1) a pre-testing instrument
about each disease,(2) a Health Fair, consisting of presentations
on each disease, held at the LIFE center on two consecutive days,
(3) distribution of a take-home information packet compiled from
various health careagencies on each disease(Hypertension, Diabetes,
Osteoporosis,Arthritis, and Depression),and (4) a post-testing
instrument about each disease. The Education for the Elderly
program was a very successful. The clients were excited to learn
and participate in the activities provided. The test results showed
that each client went home with a better understanding of the
diseases that they are faced within their everyday environment. Due
to the program’s success, LIFE-Beaver County will continue
its use as an educational tool for its current and future
clientele. |
Emily M.Peterman
Lancaster County SAFE KIDS Coalition: Program Development
Lancaster General Hospital
Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), unintentional
injuries are the leading cause of death to children age 0 to 14
years. The purpose ofthe Lancaster County SAFE KIDS Coalition is to
prevent unintentional injuries and death in Lancaster County
children from infancy to 14 through education, collaboration, and
advocacy. In August 2003, Lancaster General Hospital (LGH) became
the lead organization for the Lancaster County SAFE KIDS Coalition.
This program is currently in the developmental stage. Fact sheets
have been created for the major focus areas (home safety, child
passenger safety,bicycle/helmet safety and farm safety)
incorporating statistical data obtained from the LGH Emergency
Department and Lancaster County fatalities. A volunteer base has
been growing through partnership with organizations attending
informational meetings. A SAFE KIDS statewide county report was
developed to establish a standpoint and future goals for the
Lancaster County Coalition. A curriculum kit (includes a display
board, an interactive game and supplementary materials) was
developed for the Home Safety focus area, and will serve as a
template for future curriculum kit development. By completing these
various projects for Lancaster County SAFE KIDS, a firm foundation
has been established to implement its programs and broaden the
Coalition. The efforts and start-up skills to build the Coalition
provide a planning model that is applicable to many progressive
programs in the developmental stage. |
Leah Marie
Schafer
Latrobe Area On-the-Move, A Community Exercise-Anywhere Program
Latrobe Area Hospital
Latrobe, Pennsylvania |
Healthy People 2010
Objective 22.2 is to increase the proportion of adults who engage
regularly, preferably daily, in moderate physical activity (PA) for
at least 30 minutes/day. Currently 47% of Pennsylvanians met this
objective. Using a different question to assess PA, the Latrobe
2001 Community Needs Assessment reported 58% answered
“yes” to “do you regularly take part in PA
or exercise”. Latrobe Area On-the-Move was designed to
encourage all area residents to participate in a free, flexible PA
program at a level consistent with Objective 22.2 in
conjunctionwith Latrobe’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. A
simple log form was developed and distributed during various
community events and through program partners. Participants were
asked to log the minutes engaged in any PA each day during the
12-week program. Activity miles were calculated by adding the total
number of minutes of physical activity then dividing by 20 to
calculate an activity mile. A total of 16,578 activity miles were
recorded for the first 4-week period. Reported activities included
brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening, low impact aerobics
and others that increased the breathing/heart rate. Participation
levels for random prize drawings include individuals,families and
groups. Of the 73 forms returned 19% were male and 81% were female.
The project concludes August 31. Prizes will again be awarded the
next 4-week cycle. The program has heightened awareness of the
value of physical activity. Based on media coverage and the total
miles logged for June, Latrobe Area Hospital anticipates success
beyond the program's conclusion |
Malea M.Wessell
Geriatric Continuum of Care Assessment
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Northwest
Oil City, Pennsylvania |
The purpose of this
project is to providefeed back to the discharge process of the UPMC
Northwest hospital rehab/transitional care unit. A survey was
developed with questions regarding discharge planning and
satisfaction with one’s physician. Staff identified
participants during the weekly Interdisciplinary team conference.
Participants were contacted upon discharge to set up an appointment
to review the survey. The patients were very open and communicated
freely at the time of interview. Any problems that were identified
were dealt with in a professional manner. An Excel spreadsheet was
created, along with charts and graphs as an overview of this
project. |
Sandy
Alkire
Implementation of Anti-Tobacco
Use Community Health Programsfor Youth in Butler County
Community Health Challenge of
Southwestern Pennsylvania, Butler, Pennsylvania |
The Community Health
Challenge of Southwestern Pennsylvania is a non-profit community
provider,funded primarily by the Pennsylvania Department of Health,
to provide promotion and coordination of community-wide education
to help to reduce the risk behaviors associated with chronic
disease. The internship project consisted of increasing membership
and promoting the educational message of B.Y.T.E. (Butler Youth
TobaccoEducators), a countywide volunteer organization. B.Y.T.E. is
part of as tatewide, teen-led, adult supported movement with the
goal of exposing manipulative, deceptive marketing practices the
tobacco industry uses to target youth. Positive countermarketing
techniques were used to successfully increase membership.
Projects, such as tobacco free concerts, a freeswim-n-gym,
and radio programming, were implemented to empower youth to make
positive decisions regarding tobacco use. |
| Amanda Hollen Butler County
AreaAgency on AgingPrime Time Health Wellness Programs |
Prime Time Health is a program
supported by the Butler County Area Agency on Aging and emphasizes
health,wellness education, and disease prevention education for
seniors. During the spring of 2004, six unique programs were
presented to senior organizations. The goal of these programs was
to reach all of the eleven senior centers in Butler County at least
once andtoreach at least 30% of the total number of seniors
serviced by the centers. The Homeopathic Drug Interactions program
reached approximately 260 seniors. Ten Nutrition programs reached
over 340 participants where as 174 seniors were exposed to the Home
Safety program. The Diabetes Awareness program reached
approximately 80 Butler County seniors while 60 seniors attended
the Depression Among the Aging programs. Forty seniors attended the
Cancer Awareness program. Final results indicated that all senior
citizen centers were visited at least once and that 50% of the
eligible seniors had attended the programs. |
Robert Richards
A ProstateScreening Program for Low-Income Elderly Persons of
Color
Mercy Cancer Institute of Pittsburgh |
Mercy Hospital has a long history
of helping those in the local Pittsburgh South Region communities
to stay healthy. Mercy’s Cancer Institute was awarded a state
grant to develop and implement a community-wide prevention and
screening program for prostate cancer.Prostate cancer is the second
leading cause of death among males inthe U.S. with a
disproportionately higher death rate for African-American men. The
program was therefore designed to reach African-American men in the
six neighborhoods known as the Hilltop Communities. Upon receiving
the educational program, 40 participants were subsequently screened
for prostate cancer. |
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