Browsing by Author "Halverson, Paul"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Fostering Local Health Department and Health System Collaboration Through Case Conferences for At-Risk and Vulnerable Population
    (American Public Health Association, 2018-05) Vest, Joshua R.; Caine, Virginia; Harris, Lisa E.; Watson, Dennis P.; Menachemi, Nir; Halverson, Paul; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    In case conferences, health care providers work together to identify and address patients' complex social and medical needs. Public health nurses from the local health department joined case conference teams at federally qualified health center primary care sites to foster cross-sector collaboration, integration, and mutual learning. Public health nurse participation resulted in frequent referrals to local health department services, greater awareness of public health capabilities, and potential policy interventions to address social determinants of health.
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    Indiana Public Health System Review
    (Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 2020-12) Halverson, Paul; Yeager, Valerie
    This study examines the current state of Indiana’s public health system. In particular, this report focuses on the centerpiece of the public health system - the network of local and state governmental public health agencies - their structure, human and financial resources, authorities, and activities.
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    Report on the Tobacco Epidemic in Indiana and Marion County and Effective Solutions: 2018 Update
    (Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, 2018-10) Tauras, John; Chaloupka, Frank; Halverson, Paul
    A number of effective solutions exist for lowering tobacco rates, improving health, and lowering costs in Indiana and Marion County. Policy makers, health care systems, employers, schools, and nonprofit and community-based organizations all play a critical role.
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    Teaching Gun Violence Prevention in Undergraduate Nursing Programs
    (2023-12) Holmes, Sarah Margaret; Draucker, Claire; Moorman, Meg; Halverson, Paul; Otte, Julie; Reising, Deanna
    Gun violence is an epidemic that kills over 40,000 persons in the United States annually. Despite that gun violence is a significant public health problem, the topic is not often included in undergraduate nursing curricula. To understand this gap, the purpose of this study was to describe the teaching behaviors and perceptions of undergraduate nursing faculty related to gun violence prevention (GVP) and to explore factors that are associated with their behaviors. A survey was developed to measure faculty behaviors and perceptions. A sample of 102 nursing faculty recruited via social media communications, professional organization electronic discussion boards, and an electronic listserv completed the survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis were used to analyze their responses. Whereas most participants were favorable to including GVP topics in curriculum, only 31 had taught about GVP in an undergraduate nursing course. Participants most frequently indicated the following topics and skills should be taught: the role of guns in unintentional injuries, suicide, and intimate partner violence; assessing for gun access; counseling about safe gun storage; and counseling about lethal means restrictions to prevent suicide. Participants indicated that key barriers to teaching about GVP included having too many other topics to teach, lack of standardized educational materials, lack of guidance from accrediting bodies, lack of faculty expertise, and the current political atmosphere. Perceived level of knowledge, level of confidence, and beliefs about teaching GVP were significantly associated with teaching GVP. The findings highlight the need for faculty development programs to increase awareness of gun violence as a public health issue and assist faculty to integrate GVP education into curricula. The findings also indicate that national nursing organizations should develop guidelines, identify competencies, and provide resources related to the inclusion of GVP content in undergraduate nursing programs.
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    Understanding Factors Related to Decision Making by State Health Officials in a Public Health Emergency
    (2022-10) Barishansky, Raphael M.; Halverson, Paul; Menachemi, Nir; Yeager, Valerie
    Background and Purpose - State Health Officials (SHOs), as the leaders of state governmental public health agencies, play a critical role in their respective states. Their decisions guide the overall actions of their organizations in executing programs, policies and activities that ultimately affect the health of the state’s population. This study will add to the research and serve as a potential guide to future SHO training, specific to decision making, in a public health emergency Methods – Twenty-one individuals, who are either currently working as SHOs or who were former SHOs, were interviewed to understand their perspectives on issues that may impact their response to a public health emergency: decision-making, interaction with the public and the media and the role of politics in public health, and other areas of consequence. Results – While the study was focused more broadly, all of the respondents specifically mentioned the COVID19 pandemic as the most complicated public health emergency they have responded to as a SHO. All respondents also mentioned that they did not have a specific decision-making tool to utilize during this emergency and primarily relied on a consensus-driven decision-making process. Additionally, issues such as the challenges of managing the media and the politicization of public health during this pandemic, were mentioned by many of the respondents. Conclusion - These findings pointed to the need for a step-by-step decision-making tool to be utilized by SHOs in a public health emergency. This has the potential to lead to a more methodical approach to SHOs decision-making during a public health emergency, including a focus on various operational aspects such as understanding the role of the media in a public health emergency, managing elected officials in a public health emergency, and lessons learned from past public health emergencies.
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    Using structured and unstructured data to identify patients’ need for services that address the social determinants of health
    (Elsevier, 2017-10) Vest, Joshua R.; Grannis, Shaun J.; Haut, Dawn P.; Halverson, Paul; Menachemi, Nir; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    Introduction Increasingly, health care providers are adopting population health management approaches that address the social determinants of health (SDH). However, effectively identifying patients needing services that address a SDH in primary care settings is challenging. The purpose of the current study is to explore how various data sources can identify adult primary care patients that are in need of services that address SDH. Methods A cross-sectional study described patients in need of SDH services offered by a safety-net hospital’s federally qualified health center clinics. SDH services of social work, behavioral health, nutrition counseling, respiratory therapy, financial planning, medical-legal partnership assistance, patient navigation, and pharmacist consultation were offered on a co-located basis and were identified using structured billing and scheduling data, and unstructured electronic health record data. We report the prevalence of the eight different SDH service needs and the patient characteristics associated with service need. Moreover, characteristics of patients with SDH services need documented in structured data sources were compared with those documented by unstructured data sources. Results More than half (53%) of patients needed SDH services. Those in need of such services tended to be female, older, more medically complex, and higher utilizers of services. Structured and unstructured data sources exhibited poor agreement on patient SDH services need. Patients with SDH services need documented by unstructured data tended to be more complex. Discussion The need for SDH services among a safety-net population is high. Identifying patients in need of such services requires multiple data sources with structured and unstructured data.
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    What State Health Officials Wish They Had Known and How They Learned Best
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2018-01) Baker, Edward L.; Castrucci, Brian C.; Moffatt, Sharon; Babich, Suzanne M.; Boedigheimer, Steven F.; Hancock, Suzanne E.; Tilson, Hugh; Yeager, Valerie A.; Halverson, Paul; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health