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

2. 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

3. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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)

7. Academic Health Department Continuum
*Resource-

8. 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)

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

12. A lot of work going on….

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. Questions Dr. Devon Noonan, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC
Duke University School of Nursing
Leigh Anne Fowler, RN
Granville Vance Public Health
, ext. 155
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