The College of Nursing is proud of our extensive portfolio of active funded projects. The college has a long history of developing research and practice projects in strong partnership with community residents and community-based organizations. Our philosophy that engaging "with" communities to discover solutions to the problems that they identify rather than simply studying community issues goes back several decades and we are well positioned for the new funding opportunities emerging in translational and community based research. This CON community engagement concept has resulted in long-standing community partnerships that support collaborative initiatives that integrate community-based participatory research with community service/practice activities while providing unique community- based education opportunities for students.
Healthy Hmong Women (Poj Niam Hmong Kev Noj Qab Haus Huv): Training Lay Health Educators to Address Hmong Cancer Health Disparities (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013)
A Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Community and Academic Partnership funded the Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Health, St. Michael's Church and the UWM House of Peace Community Nursing Center to train and develop Lay Health Educators in the Milwaukee Hmong community. The goal of this pilot/demonstration project is to increase rates of breast and cervical cancer screening and reduce cancer morbidity and mortality among Milwaukee Hmong women through development and implementation of culturally‐appropriate lay health education and peer mentor/navigation programs. By training local Hmong women as lay health educators and peer mentor/navigators who provide cancer health education, outreach, advocacy, and navigation to Hmong women and their families, the Consortium intends to build capacity in the Milwaukee community to address breast and cervical cancer disparities, make positive changes in knowledge about and attitudes toward breast and cervical cancer and cancer screening, and improve individuals’ experience navigating and understanding the cancer treatment process. For Hmong women and families in Milwaukee, this project will help provide access to peer lay health education and culturally‐appropriate information on cancer and cancer prevention, and assist Hmong women in accessing cancer screening services and navigating cancer treatment – thus filling needs specifically identified and articulated by this community.
The Milwaukee Partners for Healthcare Access and Student Education (PHASE II) Initiative (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2014)
Milwaukee PHASE II intends to seek new solutions to the problems of access to healthcare for all and improved health outcomes for high risk urban communities. Funded by the US Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) Nurse Education, Practice and Retention Program, PHASE II expands nursing practice arrangements in non-institutional settings to demonstrate methods to improve access to primary health care in medically underserved communities. PHASE II is a collaboration among the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) College of Nursing (CON) nurse managed centers, two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and two trusted community-based social service organizations (CBOs) to improve access to and coordination of primary health care to two diverse, high need urban communities and to address the nursing shortage. Built on an ecological framework, this nursing practice arrangement links population-based assessment and public health disease prevention strategies to primary medical care using a community nursing center model. The Milwaukee PHASE II collaborative practice model focuses on 1) primary and secondary prevention strategies, including population-focused screening, health promotion and education programs focused on lifestyle modification; 2) nurse case management services to support coordination of care and the improvement of self care management for residents of the two communities and 3) linkages with broad based family support services available through two neighborhood based social service agencies. Coupled with efforts to create a more seamless delivery system for low-income families, the PHASE II initiative provides an environment that fosters interdisciplinary clinical learning for students from nursing, medicine and social welfare in order to educate the next generation to break the current silos of health care delivery. The initiative provides the opportunity to develop a more diverse pipeline of potential nursing students. The PHASE II initiative also offers unique opportunities for community input into the practice model and community based research that could improve both practice and client outcomes.
The Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment (CARE)
CON Faculty: Anne Dressel
Award Amount: $300,000
Westlawn Residents, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, UWM Silver Spring Community Nursing Center, UWM College of Nursing, Havenwood Economic Development Corporation, Westlawn Residents Council, Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Health Department, Wisconsin State Health Department, Growing Power, Fight Asthma Milwaukee Allies, Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, Department of Natural Resources, Jammin’ 98.3, Milwaukee’s Asian Markets, UWM College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, UWM Zilber School of Public Health, doc/UWM, Safe and Sound, Alderman Joe Davis, Milwaukee County Supervisor for District 2 Nikiya Harris.
The Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment is a recipient of a Level I and most recently a Level II CARE cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA. The Institute for Urban Health Partnerships is the lead administrator of this project. The community of focus is Westlawn, the largest low-income, public
housing development in Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee, Westlawn faces a wide range of environmental risks: poor air quality, chemical releases, lead exposure hazards, and poor water quality. The Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment joined community together stakeholders who form the broad-based partnership dedicated to reducing toxics. This stakeholder group will assessed the toxics problems in the community and is implementing solutions for reducing those risks. The Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment is the first EPA CARE grant in the state of Wisconsin.
The Level I and Level II CARE project is a five- year effort to identify and mitigate the environmental health risks of the Westlawn community. Following the identification of environmental health risks, Level II funding from the U.S. EPA supports specific interventions identified by members of the stakeholder
coalition to address those risks, and fosters further collaboration among Westlawn Partnership members.The top three areas of concern that were identified and are being addressed with current funding include poor indoor air quality, mold, and access to healthy and safe food.
The Westlawn Partnership has hired three community health workers to assist with its work, who focus on promoting Healthy Homes, Healthy Day Cares, and Sustainability of the Westlawn Partnership.
Upon completion of the Level II CARE partnership, the Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment will be sustained and funded continuously through other grant opportunities.
http://www4.uwm.edu/cc/cup/winners.cfm
Wisconsin Well Woman/WISEWOMAN Program: Outreach, Health Education, Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings, Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Case Management Services for Un-and/or Underinsured Women in the Milwaukee Area (July 1, 2012– June 30, 2013)
The UW-Milwaukee (UWM) College of Nursing's (CON) Institute for Urban Health Partnerships (IUHP) House of Peace Community Nursing Center (HOP CNC), and its sister center, the Silver Spring Community Nursing Center, (SS CNC), through this program funded by the Wisconsin Well Woman Program, seek to improve access to women's health screening needs for breast and cervical cancer, as well as cardiovascular risks for women who qualify for these services. Significant, related health education, outreach activities and case management services that focus on lifestyle interventions are a major portion of this program to effect change in health behaviors with vulnerable, at-risk 35-64 year-old women who live in the City and/or County of Milwaukee who qualify financially to receive these services through funds available to the State of Wisconsin through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the Wisconsin Well Woman Program (WWWP)/WISEWOMAN monies. Two goals of this grant project include: 1) Early detection of breast and cervical cancer through outreach, education, and increased screening options through provision of direct services and referral; 2) Increased cardiovascular disease outreach efforts and screening specifically aimed at those women at highest risk because of family history, obesity, associated risk factors and/or other co-morbid disease entities with timely initiation of required primary health care services/interventions and/or triage to available, formal, resource options in place through the CNCs' local network.
