Collaborative & Mutually Beneficial Relationships: Expanding an Academic and Public Health Partnership in Rural North Carolina

Learning Objectives Describe an academic public health department model and partnerships Discuss goals of an academic and public health partnership Describe how the Granville Vance Public Health and Duke School of Nursing partnership was implemented Discuss collaborative projects resulting from the partnership Identify various roles Public Health Nurses can assume in academic/public health department partnerships Identify factors that facilitate successful collaboration

The mission of Granville Vance Public Health is to Protect and Promote Health in Granville and Vance Counties. 75 staff members work with partners across the community to assess community health, assure access to health services, and work to develop policies that improve health and the environment. 16 Public Health Nurses working in various roles Granville Vance Public Health is a Rural Academic Health Department and incubator for innovation, evidence-based practice, and practice-based research.

The mission of the Duke University School of Nursing is to create a center of excellence for the advancement of nursing science, the promotion of clinical scholarship and the education of clinical leaders, advanced practitioners and researchers Currently over 90 Faculty members and over 800 students (ABSN, MSN, DNP, PhD) Through nursing research, education and practice, students and faculty seek to enhance the quality of life for people of all cultures, economic levels and geographic locations.

What is an Academic Health Department?1 Public Health equivalent of “teaching hospitals”= Teaching Health Department Enhance public health education and training, research, and service Help to strengthen the links between public health practice and academia Lessen the separation between the education of public health professionals and the practice of public health Serve as sites for joint education, research, and practice Develop the current and future public health workforce Build the evidence base for public health by acting as incubator sites A mutually-beneficial relationship across agencies and staff Community, as a whole, benefits from the collaborations 1Council on Linkages (2011)

Academic Health Department Continuum *Resource- http://www.phf.org/events/Documents/Staged_Model_AHD_Development_DRAFT.pdf

Academic-Public Health Partnerships Arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests In nursing, academic-service partnerships are defined as strategic relationships between educational and clinical practice settings that are established to advance their mutual interests related to practice, education and research (American Association of the College of Nursing)

Goals of Partnership: Health Department Bring research-based knowledge into practice through translational activities that support health department activities to address Chronic disease Health disparities Gain surge capacity support as needed Increase grant writing & funding support Access resources (e.g., IT, Analytics)

Goals of Partnership: Academic Partner Key alignment with mission Support capacity building Bridge theory, research and practice Work at intersection of implementation science, evidence-based practice, and quality improvement

Academic Partnerships at Granville Vance Public Health Formal Agreements: Duke University University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Informal agreements with: NC State ECU VGCC other Schools of Nursing

A lot of work going on….

Partnership: Granville Vance Public Health and Duke University School of Nursing Initiated in 2017 from research perspective (in process of expanding to educational collaboration) Monthly meetings over a 6 month time frame to define community priorities related to cancer prevention research Purpose: Consensus development of important topics to address Meeting needs of the community Inline with strategic initiatives for both parties

Collaborative Research Project: DeStress for Health Intervention development to address stress and associated cancer risk behaviors in Granville and Vance Counties Stakeholder engagement for over a year at GVPH Community focus groups and surveys Intervention being developed to augment the Healthy Communities Program Nurses at Granville Vance Public Health were active in stakeholder analysis to determine project scope and how to reach community members Nurses active in helping with recruitment of community members for project piloting

Collaborative Research Project: GROWell The GROWell (Goals for Reaching Optimum Wellness) intervention is a mobile health technology, including diet tracking, skills training and tailored feedback based on digital and human support strategies. Its message content is geared toward healthy diet change during pregnancy. Nurses at Granville Vance collaborated to provide feedback on the intervention through provider focus groups Nurses at Granville Vance suggested translation of mobile application to Spanish to meet needs of patients in community

Collaborative Project: Community Case Management Aim is to provide community case management resources and continuity of care for those entering and returning frequently into the health care, social services, emergency medicine, hospital, and public health systems in Vance County, NC. Goals include: Systems change, health equity, and working together as a trauma- informed community so that patients can more seamlessly access services. Duke school of nursing faculty invited to help brainstorm systematic ways to capture data and evaluate program

Educational Collaborations Duke ABSN students participating the research practicums on studies Health Department nurses speaking in Duke ABSN community health nursing classes Formal Collaboration for National Clinician Scholars Program (Post doctoral program for nurses and physicians) Future collaborations need to be leveraged Nursing PhD students DNP students Clinical rotations for ABSN and MSN students

Importance of Academic Public Health Partnerships for Nursing- Health Department Perspective Key to strengthen nursing practice and assist nursing in leading change and advancing health care, as documented in the National Academy of Sciences (IOM) Future of Nursing report (2010) Increases local capacity to address community needs Increase funding opportunities Publicizing the role of the Public Health Nurse

Importance of Academic Public Health Partnerships for Nursing- Academic Partner Perspective Key to strengthen nursing practice and assist nursing in leading change and advancing health care, as documented in the National Academy of Sciences (IOM) Future of Nursing report (2010) Bridge the research practice gap Research informed by community and stakeholders Educate students

Lessons Learned: Need dedicated time or dedicated staff member to coordinate, develop and nurture relationships All activities need to be mutually beneficial to be successful Lifelong learning opportunities for public health professionals Increased grant funding and management opportunities Refreshing and innovative ideas and perspectives Increased funding support from county level Flexibility

Needs as we Move Forward to Promote Academic and Public Health Nursing Partnerships More nurses in Public Health Departments with joint appointments at local Schools of Nursing Guest lecturing Student mentoring Mentoring/Pipeline for students interested in public health nursing careers More population-level projects incorporated into Nursing curriculum that will positively impact the community’s health and build stronger relationships with Public Health professionals Nursing researcher in residence models to help address nursing research priorities and bring reach and practice initiatives Periodic review of SON Community Health/Population Health curricula to assure content and clinicals are relevant to current DHHS initiatives and health promotion guidance

Questions Dr. Devon Noonan, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC Duke University School of Nursing devon.noonan@duke.edu 919-613-9130 Leigh Anne Fowler, RN Granville Vance Public Health Lfowler@gvdhd.org 919-693-2141, ext. 155 REFERENCES: