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Outreach and Engagement Awards

Ohio State University Nominated Programs

In 2008, Ohio State had a pool of 34 outstanding programs from which to choose its nominees for the regional Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award and the C. Peter Magrath University/Community Engagement Award. The scope and quality of these programs represent the broad spectrum of Ohio State’s partnerships with communities and industry.

Health, Environment, and Safety

The OHIO Project
Partner for Promotion
African American Male Wellness Walk
Emerald Ash Borer Research and Outreach
Model Preschool Vision Screening Program
Campaign to Reduce Colon Cancer
Optometry Outreach Clinic
Natural Products Development
Occupational Medicine Refugee Program
Helping Older Disabled Adults Stay Independent
Investigating Bone Density among Impoverished Central Ohio Hispanic Women
Asian and Latino Free Clinics
Nursing Home and Home-Bound Eye Care
School-Based Screening to Identify Type 2 Diabetes Associated Metabolic Change
Health Care Education for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Patients
Youth Violence Prevention
Personal Health Assessment
Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation

The OHIO Project

Ohio State Partner: College of Dentistry, Primary Care Dentistry
Community Partners: Columbus Health Department, East Central Family Health Center, (Coshocton) Dental Clinic, Nisonger Center, (Mansfield) Third Street Family Health Services, Geriatric Rotation OSU, Nisonger Center Johnstown Road Columbus, Children’s Hospital, (Dayton) Veterans Affairs Center, (Cincinnati) McMickin Dental Clinic, (Cincinnati) North Side Dental Clinic, Dental H.O.M.E. Coach, (Cincinnati) Lincoln Heights, (Toledo) Dental Center Of Northwest Ohio, (Youngstown) St. Elizabeth’s Health Center, Externships, (Cleveland) Metrohealth Medical Center, (Canton) Stark County Health Department, (Chillicothe) Veterans Affairs Hospital, Lima Dental Center, Faith Mission. Previous facilities not currently accepting students: Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, Clinton Community Dental Services, Ross County Family Dental Clinic, Forum Health Medical Center
Links: OHIO Project website; Dental HOME Coach Grant

The 2000 U.S. Surgeon General Report, “Oral Health in America” highlighted the importance of oral health to overall health and well-being. Disparities in oral health were identified as an urgent and high-priority problem. In the late 1990s, state-sponsored surveys reported that certain populations including the working poor, people with disabilities, and minorities experienced higher-than-average rates of dental disease and could not access care. In response, the Ohio Department of Health engaged the professional, educational, and public health communities in finding solutions. The College of Dentistry responded by securing a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to implement a form of outreach education unprecedented in its history. As the state’s flagship dental institution, the college committed to changing its clinical education of students and began a process of making dental education relevant to Ohio’s citizens. The college had much to gain. Its community dentistry involvement was close to nonexistent; current models of dental education are plagued by skyrocketing tuition, dwindling faculty, and aging facilities. Traditionally, the clinical experience of dental students has lacked diversity, both in terms of culture and dental needs of Ohioans. To create the OHIO (Oral Health Improvement through Outreach) Project, dental providers throughout Ohio were invited to develop partnerships. The challenge was to integrate dental students into 23 care facilities to provide dental services to underserved populations, while gaining a meaningful educational experience. The opportunity was in the ability to reach more patients. The outcome was professional growth and fulfillment for all. These partnerships provided oral health services to approximately 38,000 Ohioans and more clinically experienced graduating classes from the college. Data show a tremendous service increase to Ohioans. Evaluations reveal professional fulfillment and satisfaction in both community partners and the 426 students that have participated over 5 years. Students have improved in confidence, clinical abilities, and time management. In addition, students are gaining appreciation for alternative career paths, while better understanding ethical and social issues related to oral health care. The college has noted an increase in student productivity in the clinics as well as a revitalized curriculum. OHIO Project faculty have generated scholarship including abstracts and publications and assumed leadership status in a national dental outreach education movement. Within the university, the OHIO Project strengthened relationships with other units in areas of diversity, outreach, and admissions. The OHIO Project has stimulated additional funding totaling $833,000 for diversity and community service initiatives. The project has created a changed delivery system to include inner-city schools and faith-based communities. Opportunities lie in the future. Again in 2007, the Ohio Department of Health announced that dental care remains the number one unmet health need for Ohio’s children and low-income adults. Graduating dentists are now better equipped to address this problem. With its record established and funding secured through careful long-range planning, the OHIO Project prepares to expand further into Ohio and create a network of care for patients and education for both students and faculty with distance learning, faculty exchange and other innovations.

Partner for Promotion (PFP): An OSU Extension-Pharmacy Initiative

Ohio State Partners: OSU Extension, Community Development and Family and Consumer Sciences; College of Pharmacy (Faculty, Pharm.D. Students, and Adjunct Faculty)
Community Partners: Community Pharmacies (i.e., Kroger, CVS, Giant Eagle, Meijers, Walgreens, etc.)
Links: PFP website

Evidence of escalating adverse drug events in the health care system is substantial. Medication error-related deaths increased 2.57 fold between 1983 and 1993 [The Lancet 1998; 351:643-644], and serious or fatal adverse drug events more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 [Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007; 167(16):1752-1759]. In addition, patients’ prescription medication adherence ranges from 13% to 93% with an average rate of 50% for long-term therapies [Medication Digest, 2003, APhA-Pfizer: 1]. The impact of community pharmacists identifying and resolving medication errors and improving patient adherence is well documented [Ann Pharmacother. 2007, 41:1825-32; Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2004, 58:503-11]. However, limitations to pharmacists performing this role include time, training, and a strategic means of approaching this role in the health care process. To address these challenges and support the role of community pharmacists in improving medication-related health outcomes, The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy (COP) formed a partnership with OSU Extension (OSUE) to empower pharmacists to provide innovative patient-care programs addressing topics including health literacy, diabetes, nutrition, heart disease, obesity, healthy behaviors/lifestyles, disease prevention, and access to health care services. The PFP program leverages efforts of three university-based partners (OSU COP, OSUE Community Development, and the OSUE Family and Consumer Sciences) with those of Doctor of Pharmacy students enrolled in advanced practice community pharmacy courses, county Extension educators, and community pharmacists (i.e., adjunct clinical faculty) in effective community-based health education. This PFP model provides an approach and methodology for community pharmacies to conduct health needs assessments to guide development of health care programs to improve health literacy, promote healthy behaviors, and enhance access to health care in community pharmacies. Community pharmacists work with all partners to receive training and assistance in developing sustainable patient care programs, which strengthen their role in the health care process and provision of enhanced health care to communities. The PFP-OSUE partnership has yielded outcomes related to patient care, pharmacy-extension collaboration, student and pharmacist skill development, and increased number of community teaching sites. The following are outcome examples:

• Since 2005, 28 pharmacies have engaged in the PFP-OSUE program.
• All pharmacies developed and more than half continue to provide innovative patient care services, conducting over 1,400 patient visits.
• Collaboration between eight pharmacies and OSUE in five Ohio counties produced targeted services like grocery store tours at three sites featuring healthy food choices and nutrition labeling.
• Participating pharmacy students and pharmacists learned how to plan and market health education programs, and identify key community contacts.
• 19 of 28 pharmacies were first-time advanced pharmacy practice experiential sites, thus, expanding quality experiential sites for pharmacy students.
• 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 surveys of students and pharmacists indicated a 53% increase, in students’ perception they had the knowledge and skills to implement innovative pharmacy services.
• Students reported up to 70% and preceptors up to 30% increase in their confidence to employ specific skills needed in patient care service development, leading to improved access to community-based health care.

The Todd Bell African American Male Wellness Walk

Ohio State Partners: Department of Athletics; Department of Nephrology, College of Medicine; Fisher College of Business
Community Partners: TEACH TEC, Professional Fitness Training Association, Columbus Medical Association Foundation, Columbus Public Health, Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Caresource, OhioHealth, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Neighborhood House
Links: Wellness Walk website
Photo: Screening at the wellness walk

The Annual Todd Bell African American Male Wellness Walk provides an outlet, understanding, and motivation for the purpose of health awareness and prevention in the community. In honor of the former OSU athlete Todd Bell and his wife Daphne, a collaboration with TEACH TEC has been orchestrated to raise awareness of family health history, individual wellness, and community support. From this grassroots effort of outreach to the community and friends, relationships have developed and ways of effective communication have been opened. The hope is that “wellness” may be the topic of discussion at the dinner table and become as commonplace as asking “How was your day?” Additional supporters from the OSU community include Dewane Carter (OSU athlete/TEACH TEC Educator), Dr. Christopher Brown (OSU Nephrology Department, OSU Medical Center Medical Staff News), Eddie George (former OSU athlete), and John Gregory (TEACH TEC President). To produce this wellness event, TECH TEC invites a variety of community partners to extend their services, time, resources, and creativity each year to cultivate new ideas that better serve the community as a whole. Free health screenings for cholesterol, body mass index, body fat, blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, and waist circumference are provided the day of the walk to all male participants. With the statistical information gathered, participants have an option to receive friendly wellness calls and reminders for their health throughout the year from the TEACH TEC organization. In addition to the OSU support, TEACH TEC has engaged the Columbus Health Department for the 2008 event location. During this five-mile walk, bonds are formed, camaraderie is shown, and needs are met. Nurses, lawyers, construction worker, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, firemen, students, children, political candidates, as well as Columbus’s mayor come out and show their support the day of the event. These people are the community, and the walk is one avenue to display it. Additional activities surrounding and leading up to the day event include health awareness workshops, weight loss contests, website announcements and updates, online health awareness articles, community wellness newsletters, and monthly AAWalk Committee Planning Meetings. On the day of the walk, men share their stories in line as they await their health screenings. Events of their lives are passed to each other as friends are made. The topic of health and wellness becomes an open forum of discussion. Similarities in each other and their community are recognized and addressed. Smiles of accomplishment arise from that day and healthier lives are made. “I’m a movement by myself, but we’re a force when we’re together.” Music Artists NeYo and Fabulous

Emerald Ash Borer Research and Outreach Initiative: Facing an Unprecedented Pest with Innovative Research and Outreach Tools

Ohio State Partners: OSU Extension, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (Entomology, Environment and Natural Resources, Human and Community Resource Development, Horticulture and Crop Science), College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Community Partners: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture-APHIS, U.S. Forest Service
Links: EAB website

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an unprecedented exotic, invasive insect capable of wiping out native ash trees from North American forests and urban landscapes (one in every 10 trees in the Buckeye State). It threatens to cause serious environmental and economic damage to Ohio (where it has infested more than 30 counties) and the rest of the nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that if EAB is not contained or eradicated, it has the potential to cost state and local governments $7 billion over the next 25 years to remove and replace dead and dying ash trees that pose a safety hazard in urban and suburban areas—not to mention significant losses to the landscape and forest-products industries. Since the discovery of EAB in Ohio in February 2003, OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) have worked closely with state and federal agencies—including the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), USDA-APHIS, and USDA Forest Service—and groups representing affected industries to formulate and deliver a cooperative research and outreach program targeted at key stakeholders, among them educators, policy makers, homeowners, landowners, resource managers, green industry professionals, forest-products industry, and the general public. EAB work is coordinated by the Ohio State University EAB Outreach Team, which is made up of more than 20 professionals with expertise in EAB, trees, natural resources, communities, and communications. The work of this interdisciplinary group has been key to carrying out educational efforts that have reached all corners of the state and all stakeholder groups. Ohio has been consistently hailed by federal agencies as a national example of effective EAB-related work because of the collaborative and interagency nature of its approach. Examples of the team’s outreach successes in the past year include

• Programming: Over 123 formal educational programs and town meetings reached more than 12,627 individuals from various target audiences, many of them held in conjunction with partner agencies.
• Web Communications: The team’s website is a central resource for science-based information and outreach resources in the state. It receives approximately 1 million hits per year.
• EAB Listserv: Nearly 700 people have subscribed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s EAB e-mail listserv, which is operated and maintained by OSU Extension and provides quarantine updates, promotions of educational programs, and other important messages.
• EAB Awareness Week, May 20-26, 2007: The team coordinated outreach activities with ODA and the Governor’s office to raise awareness about EAB, with emphasis on the message “Do not move firewood: Buy local, burn local.” These included press releases, PSAs, and several EAB programs around the state. Additionally, thousands of “EAB Wanted” poster signs were distributed and placed on ash trees throughout Ohio.
• Extension Inservice Training Programs: Five workshops were held in February and March 2007 for OSU Extension professionals across the state, in order to keep this extensive network of community resource people updated on the latest EAB scientific information from OARDC and collaborating universities in the Midwest.

The University/Community Model Preschool Vision Screening Program: A Collaboration of University and Community Partners

Ohio State Partners: OSU Extension, College of Optometry, College of Education and Human Ecology
Community Partners: Columbus Foundation, 4-H Youth Development, high school Family and Consumer Science programs
Links: Vision in Preschoolers website
Photo: 4-H student using the Retinomax Autorefractor test (photos by Ken Chamberlain, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences)

The University/Community Model Program (U/C Model Program) was designed to use results from the award-winning science of the Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study to pilot and refine effective community-based preschool vision screening programs and to create a model program for widespread implementation in Ohio. In partnership with Ohio’s 4-H Youth Development and high school Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Programs in the College of Education and Human Ecology and OSU Extension, knowledge from a clinical research study is being translated and piloted in three counties to directly benefit Ohio children. The VIP Study, centered at Ohio State, was sponsored by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2000-2006. The nationwide multidisciplinary study showed that the three best performing tests for use with 3- to 5-year-old children were similarly effective when administered by trained lay screeners or trained health care professionals (eye doctors and nurses) in determining those children who would benefit most from an eye exam to detect amblyopia, strabismus, and refractive error. Vision disorders among preschool-age children are the fourth most common disability and the leading handicapping condition of childhood in the United States. The prevalent vision disorders lazy eye (amblyopia), eye misalignment (strabismus), and refractive error (astigmatism and farsightedness) pose a significant public health threat to the 17-20% of preschool-age children who have or are at risk for developing these disorders. For example, amblyopia is responsible for permanent vision loss in 6 million Americans and is entirely preventable when detected early. Yet, fewer then 22% of preschool-age children in the United States are currently screened for vision disorders. This vision loss has a lifelong negative impact on academic, social, and physical aspects of life in addition to affecting visual health. Implementing effective preschool vision screening programs throughout Ohio can improve detection of the disorders, which now preclude children’s likelihood for academic success and full participation in society. In partnership with the Columbus Foundation, the College of Optometry is collaborating with the OSU Extension, 4-H Youth Development, and FCS programs in Summit, Shelby, and Henry counties to train high school students to use the best performing tests, the Crowded Single Lea Symbols Vision Screening Test, Retinomax Autorefractor, and SureSight Vision Screener, and methods adapted from the VIP study. One screening instrument will stay in each county to establish a self-sustaining community-based program. All 20 4-H student leaders successfully completed the training program, met certification requirements, and implemented community-based preschool vision screening. The extension programs view the model program as a service-learning project ideal for 4-H youth, and, with more than 300,000 members, the 4-H program offers the potential for implementation in all 88 counties throughout the state of Ohio.

“Get Behind Your Health!” Campaign to Reduce Colon Cancer

Ohio State Partner: Health Behavior and Health Promotion, College of Public Health
Community Partner: Meigs County Cancer Initiative, Inc.
Photo: The “Get Behind Your Health!” media campaign featuring a Meigs County colon cancer survivor

The Ohio State University College of Public Health (CPH) is using innovative collaborations with students and community partners to plan, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs. Graduate students enrolled in the Health Program Planning and Implementation course develop a health program in partnership with an Ohio community agency. This partnership provides students with a real-life experience to enrich their graduate education and helps agencies and community coalitions target an identified health problem with a program designed specifically for their local community. An example of one unique engagement project is the “Get Behind Your Health!” campaign. This project is a partnership of the OSU CPH, the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center, the National Cancer Institute-sponsored Appalachia Community Cancer Network (ACCN), and the Meigs County Cancer Initiative, Inc. (MCCI). In meetings with MCCI members, colorectal cancer (CRC) was identified as a concern for residents. Meigs County is one of four Appalachia Ohio counties classified as “distressed” by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Specifically, Meigs County residents, as compared to residents of Ohio, have a 6% higher CRC incidence rate and a 7% higher CRC mortality rate, and over half of CRC cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when the cancer is not as responsive to treatment. Based on the concerns of MCCI members, the Ohio ACCN provided assistance for a $3,850 Community Investment Grant from the Ohio Division of the American Cancer Society, which was awarded to MCCI. A community needs assessment was conducted by a CPH student and members of MCCI and Ohio ACCN. A significant finding of the needs assessment was that residents were not aware of CRC screening tests and would complete a test if asked to do so by their doctor. CPH students enrolled in the program planning course met with the MCCI members to better understand their concerns and the Appalachian culture. Students were asked to develop a health program to address the lack of knowledge about CRC screening. The “Get Behind Your Health!” media campaign consisted of radio public service announcements, television public service announcements, newspaper stories, a billboard, posters, and brochures. MCCI members worked with the Ohio ACCN investigators and applied for a community development grant from the national ACCN. The grant ($2,500), awarded to MCCI, provided funding to implement and evaluate “Get Behind Your Health!” The campaign featured a local CRC survivor who was selected and invited to participate by members of MCCI. Members of MCCI, Ohio ACCN, and students worked together to implement and evaluate the campaign. Approximately 64% of the participants reported seeing the “Get Behind Your Health!” message from at least one source during the previous 3 months. Results from these community-based efforts have been included in a grant submission to the NCI that may bring future experiences for CPH students, strategic research, and cancer prevention and control educational programs to this economically distressed region of Ohio to reduce cancer disparities.

2008 O&E Awards: Health, Environment, and Safety page 2
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