A Multilevel Intervention With African American Churches to Enhance Adoption of Point-of-Care HIV and Diabetes Testing, 2014-2018.

We describe a multilevel intervention to enhance adoption of point-of-care HIV and diabetes testing at church health fairs in Atlanta, Georgia. Church leaders viewed a leadership video and subsequently conducted social activities that support testing. After the multilevel intervention, a third of churches hosted HIV and diabetes health fairs, and church leaders engaged in more social activities. Of 193 attendees receiving health services, 56.6% received HIV testing and 92.7% received diabetes testing. This implementation science approach could reduce HIV and diabetes disparities among African Americans.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Recurring Interdisciplinary Community Health Fair in a Remote U.S.-Mexico Border Community.

The purpose of this project was to design, implement, and assess a recurring interdisciplinary community health fair in an underserved border town. University of California San Diego (UCSD) medical and pharmacy students, under faculty supervision, worked alongside community partners in Calexico, California to implement a health fair two miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Demographic and screening data were described from 293 participants from 2014 to 2016. Over 90% (269/293) listed Mexico as their country of birth, 82.9% (243/293) were monolingual Spanish speakers, 75.4% (221/293) had an annual household income of ≤ $20,000, and 58.7% (172/293) described their health as fair or poor. Screening revealed 91.1% (265/291) were overweight or obese, 37.8% (109/288) had hypertension, 9.3% (27/289) had elevated blood sugar, and 11.4% (33/289) had elevated total cholesterol levels. This model could be replicated in other training settings to increase exposure to border health issues and connect patients to local health services.

Testing for Turkeys Faith-Based Community HIV Testing Initiative: An Update.

Testing for Turkeys (TFT) HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing initiative is a joint effort between Older Women Embracing Life (OWEL), Inc., a nonprofit faith-based community HIV support and advocacy organization; the Johns Hopkins University Regional Partner MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC); and the University of Maryland, Baltimore JACQUES Initiative (JI), and is now in its 11th year of providing HIV outreach, testing, and linkage to care. Since 2008, the annual TFT daylong community HIV testing and linkage to care initiative has been held 2 weeks before Thanksgiving at a faith-based center in Baltimore, Maryland, in a zip code where one in 26 adults and adolescents ages 13 years and older are living with HIV (Maryland Department of Health, Center for HIV Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Evaluation, 2017). TFT includes a health fair with vendors that supply an abundance of education information (handouts, videos, one-on-one counseling) and safer sex necessities, including male and female condoms, dental dams, and lube. Nutritious boxed lunches and beverages are provided to all attendees and volunteers. Everyone tested for HIV who stays to obtain their results is given a free frozen turkey as they exit. The Baltimore City Health Department is on hand with a confidential no-test list (persons in the state already known to have HIV) to diminish retesting of individuals previously diagnosed with HIV. However, linkage to care is available to everyone: newly diagnosed individuals and those previously diagnosed and currently out of care.

Using a Community-based Participatory Research Approach to Implement a Health Fair for Children.

When devising strategies to combat obesity, strategies focusing on children should be utilized since health-related behaviors track into adulthood. One strategy that begins to address, and brings awareness to, the rising obesity rates and other health disparities in adults is the utilization of community health fairs. Previous literature has described how to conduct an adult health fair using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, but no study has shown how to conduct a health fair for children. This article explains how a CBPR approach was used to develop a health fair focused on obesity prevention for children. A partnership between the community and a local university was formed to assist in the planning and implementation of a health fair. While the data obtained from the health fair served as a needs assessment for future projects, the health fair was also a good first step in developing relationships and trust among the partners.

Pilot study of patient perception of pharmacists as care providers based on health screening encounters with student pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES: To assess how patient perceptions of the clinical role of pharmacists may be affected by use of the AIDET communication tool during student-led health fairs, as well as how such events can help promote pharmacy practice. SETTING: 12 community health fair screenings throughout northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, from February to November 2012. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: University of Minnesota-College of Pharmacy students trained in the use of AIDET employed the tool's techniques in their communication with health fair patient attendees. Project participants were those patients aged 18 years and older who successfully completed a health fair survey. PRACTICE INNOVATION: The AIDET communication tool is designed to provide consistency in patient encounters through the use of key words at key times. AIDET is a mnemonic acronym that stands for acknowledge, introduce, duration, explanation, and thank you. University of Minnesota-College of Pharmacy students are taught how to use the AIDET framework in classroom and laboratory settings prior to their interactions with patients at area health fairs. INTERVENTION: Health fair attendees were asked to complete a survey to determine their satisfaction level with student pharmacist-delivered pharmacy services. EVALUATION: 87 patients were surveyed, with a response rate of 22.5% and a completion rate of 91.6%. The average age of the patient population for the study cohort was 52 years, with greater than 50% being 65 years or older. Patient ages ranged from 24 to 89 years. RESULTS: When AIDET techniques were employed in a health fair setting, patients reported high levels of satisfaction with pharmacy services and said they felt "happy, comfortable, and trusting." CONCLUSION: The AIDET framework provides a consistent process for patient-centered care delivery because it places emphasis on patient needs and expectations. Use of the technique is capable of enhancing student and pharmacist engagement with patients.

The community comes to campus: the Patient and Community Fair.

BACKGROUND: Community-based learning connects students with local communities so that they learn about the broad context in which health and social care is provided; however, students usually interact with only one or a few organisations that serve a particular population. One example of a community-based learning activity is the health fair in which students provide health promotion and screening for local communities. CONTEXT: We adapted the health fair concept to develop a multi-professional educational event at which, instead of providing service, students learn from and about the expertise and resources of not-for-profit organisations. INNOVATION: The fair is an annual 1-day event that students can attend between, or in place of, classes. Each community organisation has a booth to display information. One-hour 'patient panels' are held on a variety of topics throughout the day. Evaluation methods include questionnaires, exit interviews and visitor tracking sheets. Over 5 years (2009-2013), the fair increased in size with respect to estimated attendance, number of participating organisations, number of patient panels and number of students for whom the fair is a required curriculum component. Students learn about a range of patient experiences and community resources, and information about specific diseases or conditions. IMPLICATIONS: The fair is an efficient way for students to learn about a range of community organisations. It fosters university-community engagement through continuing connections between students, faculty members and community organisations. Lessons learned include the need for community organisations to have techniques to engage students, and ways to overcome challenges of evaluating an informal 'drop-in' event. The fair is an efficient way for students to learn about a range of community organisations.

A collaborative communitywide health fair: the process and impacts on the community.

The purpose of this article is to describe the process of conducting a collaborative communitywide health fair, and the impacts of such health intervention programs on community members. A community health fair addresses the health access needs of underserved populations. The success or effectiveness of such community-based programs requires systematic approach to assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The PRECEDE˜PROCEED model was used as the guiding framework. The health fair described in this article was coordinated by nurses and drew resources from multiple health providers and organizations. The fair provided opportunities for vulnerable populations to access and utilize appropriate and comprehensive health services, resources and education.

The impact of student pharmacists at health fair events.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate student pharmacists' impact on health fair participant knowledge of selected disease states and to evaluate the intent of health fair participants with abnormal screening results to seek follow-up care within 1 month of screening. METHODS: Health fair participants were assessed for changes in their knowledge of specific diseases before and after screenings. Participants' intent to seek health care was assessed through a survey instrument developed using Rosenstock's Health Belief Model. RESULTS: Increases in participant knowledge of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and body mass index were significant, and 78% of participants with abnormal results intended to contact a provider. CONCLUSIONS: Student pharmacists' had a positive impact on health fair participants' disease knowledge and intent to follow up with a provider.

A health education program for underserved community youth led by health professions students.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and implement a health fair and educational sessions for elementary school children led by health professions students. DESIGN: The structure and process were developed with elementary school administration to determine the health topics to be covered. Students and faculty members created a "hands-on," youth-oriented health fair and interactive health educational sessions. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on learning outcomes from the underserved child population and health professions students. ASSESSMENT: The health fair and educational sessions increased awareness of underserved youth in the areas of critical health behaviors, purposeful education on health issues facing their community, and exposure to careers in various health professions. The activities provided meaningful learning experiences for the health professions students. CONCLUSION: The health education program model is an excellent way to teach health education, communication and critical thinking skills, and service learning to health professions students.

Case-finding in the community: the results 2.

Improving the health and well-being of the population is at the centre of policy development, and the vision is to involve individuals, families and communities. The Case-finding in the Community Project was designed to build upon the established relationship between district nursing and the local community of East Belfast, working together to improve the health of adults in the community using a case-finding approach. The aims were to improve the early detection of long-term conditions, to increase access to primary care and the specialist nursing services, and to further develop the working partnership with East Belfast Community Health Information Project. Between September 2006 and March 2007, 351 people attended 17 health fairs in East Belfast at a range of venues. There were 115 people with identified risk factors for respiratory, cardiac, diabetes and hypertension. From the results of this project, there is a need for 'case-finding' patients with the potential to develop chronic disease management.

Osteopathic medicine and community health fairs: increasing public awareness while improving public health.

For members of the public, community health fairs are an opportunity to gather information and receive screening for a variety of common medical conditions. For the osteopathic medical community, they can be an opportunity to increase public awareness about osteopathic medicine. The authors conducted a survey at nine community-based health fairs in the Lansing, Mich, metropolitan area to determine public awareness of osteopathic medicine and to learn if event attendance later influenced attendees' decisions to seek medical care. Between November 2001 and February 2003, health fair attendees (N=202) completed questionnaires and had their blood pressure, glucose level, and cholesterol level measured and their body mass index calculated. Approximately half of study participants received telephone follow-up within 60 days. At that time, participants were asked the same survey questions as well as whether they had sought follow-up medical care in the past 30 days. Survey results suggest that higher levels of education (P<.001) and annual household income (P<.001) correlate with increased awareness of osteopathic physicians. Preference for osteopathic physicians over allopathic physicians correlates with lower age (P<.001) and higher levels of education (P=.004). One third of participants reported seeking medical care in the past 30 days, but 79% of these individuals said their decisions were not influenced by health fair attendance. Health fairs are useful for increasing public knowledge about osteopathic medicine. The authors suggest that similar locally based promotion efforts target middle-aged individuals who do not have college degrees and belong to lower socioeconomic groups.

Validating nursing competencies using a fair format.

Across the healthcare system, staff development specialists and nurse leaders have been challenged with the development, implementation, and evaluation of processes by which clinical nursing staff demonstrate competence in an efficient and effective manner. The purpose of this article is to describe one approach used in an acute care setting. Staff development specialists and nurse leaders played key roles in assessing, developing, and evaluating a nursing competency validation fair.

A comprehensive education plan: the key to a successful Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations survey.

This article describes how education specialists from a 359-bed acute care hospital in the Northeast developed and implemented a comprehensive educational plan to prepare all staff members on the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) tracer methodology and upcoming triennial survey. This methodology can be utilized by staff development educators in any setting to not only prepare staff members for a successful JCAHO survey but also to meet or exceed JCAHO standards in one's everyday job.