CAP Research Project
Over the course of 3 semesters, a group of nursing students assessed, researched, deliberated, and implemented an intervention to increase health outcomes for the adolescent population in the community of Eclectic, Alabama. The CAP project aimed to meet a Healthy People 2020 goal and incorporated teamwork, diligence, and motivation to better the community, all of which exemplify the goals of Auburn's bachelorette nursing program.
Environment
Community health nursing is the combination of nursing and public health practice applied to promote and protect a populations' health. It combines all the basic elements of professional, clinical nursing with public health, and has a focus of bettering the health outcomes and education of the community as a whole. We began this project with very little knowledge about the health disparities in the state of Alabama and were shocked at the statistics related to health outcomes, education, and resources available for our assigned town Eclectic, Alabama.
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Our first research paper is the compilation of economic and health statistics, the current Healthy People 2020 goals, and the health outcomes for adolescents in Eclectic. We were assigned the adolescent population and the three largest areas of concern were motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and unintended pregnancy. Through research and review of many resources, our group was able to complete the first paper of this project, which is seen on the right.
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This initial part of the project was primarily focused around familiarizing ourselves with the types of people, jobs, opportunities, resources, and current health issues in Eclectic. We learned a lot about what types of indicators determine health outcomes and how to objectively and responsibly research a community. By establishing a basic knowledge of the area and people, we were preparing ourselves for a more in-depth discussion and analysis on which health concern needed acknowledging most by the community, which was to be completed in the next phase of our project.
Enlargement
By driving around the community to complete a windshield survey, and talking to the Elmore County High School nurse as a key informant, we were able to incorporate more information into the health profile of Eclectic, AL. We gained valuable information about the housing condition, presence of sidewalks and playgrounds, availability of health services, and about what the community members believe is an area that needs improvement. While motor vehicle crashes and suicide affect many young people in this nation, the city of Eclectic has moderately high teen pregnancies rates. This led us to narrowing our focus for implementing change to sexual health of adolescents.
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A second paper was completed to include this information and to state our intervention plan to help assist this community in education about safe sexual practices, prevention of unwanted pregnancy, and unwanted STDs. It also included our short and long term goals to evaluate our progress in the future. To read our Phase II Paper, click here.
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This part of the project allowed us to become active participants in the research process and form relationships with community members as we started the conversations about the negative health patterns present.
Employment
Implementation of our planned education to the community of Eclectic presented with many barriers. At the only high school in our original community, we were denied access to come and educate during a health education class, because of concerns that we would offend students and or parents. Because there are so few healthcare resources or community events, we had to broaden our scope to include other cities. In the neighboring community, Alexander City, we reached out to a Boys and Girls club to see if we could come educate their staff on adolescent general health and safety, as well as adolescent sexual health. Due to inopportune timing, their students and staff were on a break between sessions and were not available for us to come educate on these topics.
Eventually, our group was able to create two pamphlets, an informative educational video, and quiz over adolescent health and sexual health, and send them to the First United Methodist Church in Alexander City. They have developed a new campus near the local medical center and hope to establish a place to develop opportunities for community activity through programming, support groups, and education. We were able to send our materials to them to help aid them in speaking to community members and development of an adolescent sexual health program for the area.
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Overall, this project allowed us to critically think and continue to prioritize what was most important for this community. We were able to work together as a team to complete assignments, correspond professionally with members of the community, and develop goals and an intervention that will contribute to better health outcomes for the adolescent population in Alexander City and Eclectic. To view our final video, please click here.