Welcome to the Community and Population Health Nursing Field Project! The field work is an assessment. It is as if your county officials had come to you and said “We know we have this public health concern, we know our county is one of the worst in the state. We want you to look into it for us and write an action plan for improvement.” Your role in the field project is to perform a community wide assessment related to preventing this public health concern and the factors that contribute to it. You should be in the assessment mode, casting a wide net of assessment throughout the county, talking with representatives of agencies, institutions, organizations, and entities within the community that are (or should be) working on preventing this concern. The focus is on what the community can do collectively to prevent this problem. In population health, we believe in the phrase “it takes a village” and this assessment is about what is the village doing to prevent this problem. At the end of the field experience, the student will: • Have performed a detailed assessment related to preventing a specific public health concern and the factors that contribute to it. • Describe the role of community organizations in addressing the chosen topic and/or target population. • Describe the community health programs, policies, resources, and services that serve the population. • Participate in community-based committee meetings to identify the community partners and collaborative relationships that address the chosen topic/target population. • Become familiar with the agencies and organizations that collaborate in the community to achieve positive health outcomes. Choose a primary prevention topic from the approved topic list: My topic : “Opioid Epidemic in Lake County, FL” ________________________________________ Research: Introduction Gather further background information on your topic (refer back to task 1), addressing the following: • Describe your health topic. • Describe the health issue at the national level , (stating some states with high incidence rates, eg Ohio where the incidence rate of opioid overdose in 2015 was twice the national average) Use information from National/state news, CDC, JACO etc • Describe the health issue at the state level. • Describe the health issue at the local level.(Will do that portion) • What has been the trend for this problem over the last 20 to 30 years? Provide references. • In your opinion, has the problem gotten better, worse, or stayed the same? Provide your rationale. • What are the improvement goals for the next 5 to 10 years? • How does your county compare on this issue to the state level? Provide references. • How does your county compare on this issue to the national level? Provide references. • Discuss the national level in terms of Healthy People 2020. • Describe why this level is an issue of concern. • • In your opinion, what will happen if this issue is left unresolved? • What do you believe are the consequences for the individual and for the community related to this issue? If you are unable to answer any of these questions, consider using them as interview questions. Additionally, describe the target population (geography, age, gender, ethnic group, etc) of interest you have chosen. You may choose to keep your population broad in the beginning and as you conduct your assessment determine which population is in most need. Follow these steps to plan your field experience. Who is your client? Generally in nursing we think of patients and families as our clients. In population health, the community is the client. Your focus is on assessing the community. What are the health issues for the community as a whole? What is currently being done for the ‘client’? Understanding the health status and health issues of your client (the community) You will need to contact and visit many different groups, organizations, services, and individuals within agencies to learn how your health issue is currently being addressed in your chosen community. Some, but not all, of these contacts may have the ability and resources to assist you in meeting your health promotion objectives. Partnerships Community-based nurses work and partner with community organizations/agencies to be successful in achieving health promotion objectives. As you meet with the agencies and organizations that address your health issue, you need to identify what entities would be appropriate partners. Questions to ask It is important to have in mind what it is you will be asking as you meet with organizations and groups to assess the current programs in place that address your health topic. In the end, you will want consistent data and consistent data generally means asking consistent questions. Think about the questions in relation to the mission of the organization or the job title and responsibilities of the person you are questioning. In other words, how does the role, mission, responsibilities influence the responses to questions? In your summary paper, you may be aggregating the responses you get to the questions you ask. It is very helpful to create a table and use it as one of the appendices in your paper with the analysis in the narrative. • Make a list of approximately 20 agencies/experts/stakeholders who address your topic in your community. • Make a list of upcoming community events/meetings/classes/activities regarding your topic. • Create a list of interview questions that will help you gain insight into the efforts currently being made to address your topic. a. From the agency/staff perspective, what are the gaps in primary prevention efforts related to the topic/issue? b. What would be their recommendations to improve efforts?