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University of the Incarnate Word
(San Antonio, TX)
Ministerio
de Salud
Summary
In 1999, the University’s School of Nursing and Health Professions
and the St. Philip of Jesus parish developed a partnership for health—the
Ministerio de Salud. Its purpose is to promote the health and well-being
of the predominantly Hispanic community through capacity building and
collaboration. The activities are guided by combining principles of service-learning,
community health and parish nursing, and focus on health screening, health
promotion, and disease management.
The Practice
Located south of downtown San Antonio, the St. Philip of Jesus parish
consists of established, older properties and homes. Ninety-five percent
of the 6,000 people living in the neighborhood identify themselves as
Hispanic. The median income per household is $22,841, with 27 percent
of families living below poverty level. Fifty-five percent of single parent
families live below the poverty level.
Since its inception, the Ministerio de Salud has involved over 500 students
and 40 faculty members. Each academic year, health promotion and disease
management services are provided to about 1,000 individuals, with 100-125
students participating in service activities. Starting in spring 2004,
a new activity slated for the partnership is a health promotion plan for
individual parishioners. This plan will be developed together by a student
and the parishioner. The plan or contract will also include a stipulation
that the parishioner will be actively involved in the student’s
learning, thus becoming a co-teacher.
The partnership has expanded to include other recipients of service and
other agencies providing services based on community-identified needs.
Outreach sites include a HUD subsidized apartment complex for senior citizens,
two community centers serving the elderly, local businesses, and one public
and three other parish schools. All are located within 5-10 miles of the
parish and are helping to address the lack of access to bilingual health
promotion programs. Additional partners include the metropolitan health
department, a private hospital, federally funded health clinics, Methodist
Health Care Ministries, the March of Dimes, and the American Cancer Society,
as well as students and faculty from the medical, pharmacy, dental, and
nursing schools of a nearby health science center.
Effectiveness
Capacity building is a primary purpose of the partnership. While student
nurses learn how to conduct health screenings for the elderly and for
school-aged children, members of the community learn about health deviations.
In an average year, over 1,000 screenings are completed, with about 150
referrals made for abnormal findings. While students learn how to organize
and present health promotion programs, community residents learn how lifestyle
can affect health. Students learn how to help community residents manage
chronic diseases, and residents learn about their specific health problems.
Each semester, several homebound elderly help students learn how to do
health assessments and home visits, and the residents receive individual
care.
Students and faculty have learned a great deal about what it is like
living below poverty level. For many students who have only encountered
patients in hospitals, this is a new view of the patient’s world.
Student surveys conducted after each experience at the Ministerio de Salud
are generally positive. Students have commented that all nursing students
should be in the community early in their educational experience, and
they feel that the knowledge and skills learned will be useful in their
future nursing careers. The most frequent negative evaluation is that
students felt they did not have enough time to spend with community residents.
Participation in the partnership has also expanded to other academic
departments including business, physical education, nutrition, English,
communication arts, and Spanish. The partnership allows for faculty practice
in the community, and course content and evaluation methods have changed
to involve more reflective activities. For example, a revised course that
now focuses on the responsibility of nurses for cultural competence and
elimination of health disparities has a service-learning component and
reflection that have greater weight in evaluation than the multiple-choice
exam. In addition, a campus-wide service-learning committee is succeeding
in getting more courses designated with a service-learning component.
Faculty scholarship has also changed. Over the past four years, there
have been two refereed publications and 22 presentations related to activities
of the Ministerio de Salud. All members of the partnership—faculty,
students, and community members—are contributing to these activities.
Ten of these presentations (42 percent) involved students and community
members. Additionally, faculty members involved with the partnership have
learned grant-writing skills, resulting in five funded grants.
Lastly, an important outcome of the partnership is the creation of the
Health Council. The goal of the Council is to “….evaluate
the needs of the community and the talents available and serve as a planning
and coordinating body for creating and implementing health promotion programs.”
The purpose, scope, and responsibility of the Council are outlined in
a Letter of Agreement signed by the University and the Archdiocese of
San Antonio. The membership is comprised of three University representatives
and six community members who meet on a monthly basis.
Resources
For detailed information about the University of the Incarnate Word-St.
Philip of Jesus partnership for health, visit the UIW School of Nursing
website (click
on Ministerio de Salud/Health Ministry). This project is currently funded
by the Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions
Contact Information
Sara E. Kolb
Professor of Nursing
Director, Ministerio de Salud
University of the Incarnate Word
4301 Broadway
San Antonio, TX 78209
Phone: 210-829-3163
kolb@universe.uiwtx.edu
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