Primary Presenter: Rhonda R. Strebel, MBA, Executive Director, Rural Health Initiative, Inc.
Additional Authors: Roxanne J. Tienor, BSN, RN University of WI Green Bay; Lisa F. Schiller MS, APNP, RN University of WI Eau Claire; Janet Reilly, DNP APRN-BC, RN University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
Learning Objective: How does the health outreach farm visits at “kitchen table” change the health outcomes based on the Health Risk Assessment (HRA) categories and biometric readings in farm and agriculture participants who took multiple HRAs in Shawano County, Wisconsin over visits period between 2009 and 2014?
Special Note: Roxanne Tienor was the original primary contact for this project; she was a Masters level RN student for the Rural Health Initiative this past year. Roxanne is unable to attend the conference, but Rhonda Strebel Executive Director of the program will be attending the conference and can bring the poster and/or do a presentation.
The health care community is now recognizing the importance of improvement of access to and quality in health care for our nation’s rural communities. One aspect of the rural health is a focus on agricultural families, as many farmers tend to avoid having basic preventative and illness care visits with a family doctor because of barriers to care. This can cause farmers to appear later in the health system and be very ill patients. In order to promote good health behaviors in this population, one non-profit program, supported by the local donors, seeks to close some of the gaps in health care for rural farm families in Shawano County, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Rural Health Initiative (RHI) provides health prevention, promotion, and safety services to farm families through outreach to the farmers at their kitchen table in a concept called “Kitchen Wellness”. RHI collects information from the HRAs and biometrics screenings which include an Outreach Health Coordinator (OHC) who performs onsite blood pressures; cholesterol and blood sugar levels; and Body Mass Index (BMI) and percentage of body fat testing. The evaluation of effectiveness was a quantitative analysis of de-identified, previously collected data from participants who completed HRAs and biometric screenings with RHI at least twice in the years between 2009 and 2014. A comparison of HRA answers to nutrition and exercises and biometric readings was completed. The findings indicated that RHI has been effective in prompting changes in the behaviors of the farm families in this geography. Results show that repeat follow up assessments add value for health promotion as the trust relationship is built between the Outreach Health Coordinators and the participants.
Audio/visual Requirements: LCD Projector/Laptop (if this is selected to be a presentation)
Can bring a Poster OR Give a Presentation