CHCS Perspectives Summer/Fall 2013

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER-FALL 2013 – Page 10 D iabetes in America has become a national epi- demic according to statistics provided by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2012. According to Dawn Seay, executive director of the American Diabetes Association of Broward County, it is estimated that over 1.5 million people age 20 and older in Broward County have diabetes, and more are being di- agnosed with the disease daily. In line with its mission to develop health care leaders, the College of Health Care Sciences has developed an ini- tiative designed to educate Broward County residents about diabetes management and prevention. Interprofessional teams of students and faculty members were developed to reach out to the community to create workshops based upon the American Diabetes Association Live Empowered train- ing materials. The NSU Diabetes Education Initiative is designed to meet the pressing needs con- nected to diabetes in Broward County. The CHCS strives to create innovative initiatives to meet the needs of our local community while providing research, service, and learn- ing opportunities for NSU students and fac- ulty members. This initiative is one example of our commitment. The Teams In August 2012, CHCS faculty members were invited to join the initiative. Nine signed on and began recruiting students from their programs. On August 30, 2012, 45 students and 9 faculty members participated in a three-hour training session. The student-faculty teams were composed of professionals and emerging professionals from the audiology, anesthesiology assistant, occupational therapy, physician assistant, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs. During the event, Seay spoke to the students about the statistics and challenges of the diabetes epidemic in Broward County. In addition, Sonia Kay, Ph.D, associate professor of occupational therapy, Patricia Toribio, M.H.Sc., clinical coordinator and assistant professor of general vascular sonography, and Linda Fritzen-Hearn, M.S.N., assistant professor of nursing, each led part of the training. During the last 45 minutes, students were assigned to interprofessional teams led by a faculty member, received job descriptions for each of the team leadership positions, and volunteered for the specific roles and responsibilities that best fit their strengths and interests. The Experience Although the teams worked with a variety of groups in the community, the Live Empowered initiative is designed to bring diabetes education to African American churches. Since the African American community experiences a high incidence of diabetes, and many African Americans report high rates of church attendance, the ADA developed a training specifically designed to reach African Americans in their place of worship. Student team leaders contacted local African American and other churches as well as local community organizations to set up trainings for Broward County residents. They facilitated workshops on how to help children and young adults prevent diabetes, exercise and diabetes, nutrition for patients with diabetes, how to support someone with diabetes, and managing and pre- venting diabetes. In reflecting on the experience, one individual reported gaining an “increased understanding of the complexity of community outreach.” Students expected the workshop de- livery to be the most challenging aspect of the experience. As they worked together to meet their goals, they encoun- tered the more practical challenges of eliciting a response from organizational gatekeepers, maintaining enthusiasm INTERPROFESSIONAL STUDENT AND FACULTY PARTNERSHIPS: Leading Diabetes Education in Broward County By Terry Morrow, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Student Affairs