Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Project

The primary purpose of the project is to increase the nursing workforce prepared to provide quality, culturally competent geriatric care in North Carolina, including rural and medically underserved communities and vulnerable and minority populations, by improving access to education programs on geriatric care. This purpose will be achieved by developing 2 models for developing the geriatric workforce: one model will focus on developing nursing personnel currently employed in health care facilities through in-service education that incorporates electronic distance learning technologies. The second model will be targeted at Registered Nurses (RNs) pursuing bachelor's degrees in collegiate schools of nursing. Both models will be developed to deliver content and experiences suitable to the culture of the targeted setting. Both models will be implemented and evaluated, and refined for dissemination to other sites.

Point 4 The Future: College Campus Folic Acid Campaign

Point 4 The Future: College Campus Folic Acid Campaign is housed within the School of Nursing of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is funded by the March of Dimes. The project seeks to increase the proportion of women on North Carolina college campuses who consume 0.4 milligrams of synthetic folic acid each day as a part of a healthy diet. Research has shown that folic acid, if taken prior to pregnancy, can reduce birth defects of the brain and spine by up to 70%. Point 4 the Future offers a variety of programs in an effort to increase knowledge of the benefits of this vitamin among women of childbearing age. Typical grant activities include classroom presentations, campus healthcare provider in-service trainings, table displays at health fairs, and interactive dining hall promotions. Trained peer educators conduct sessions on their home campuses. During the course of the grant over 60 campuses in North Carolina will be enrolled. For more information visit the project website at http://www.point4thefuture.org .

TRIAD (Teamwork in Research and Intervention to Alleviate Disparities) Project

The purpose of the TRIAD (Teamwork in Research and Intervention to Alleviate Disparities)   Project for Health Disparities is to increase the prevention and risk avoidance research,   training and outreach efforts to eliminate health disparities of African-Americans, Hispanics,   and low-income persons in central North Carolina. Specific aims: 1) Develop and enhance   the infrastructure to support health disparity research at UNCG, 2) Facilitate the   developement of researchers in health disparities who focus on high-risk groups and high   priority topics, especially those from ethnic or racial minorities, low-incomes and women. Our   focus is developing research infrastructure and partnerships to address major health   disparities of children and adults in the 11 county region. African-Americans constitute 29% of   the population of Guilford County and a 453% increase in the Hispanic population has   occurred over the past 5 years. Poverty is at 12% and unemployment is 6%. The populations   mirror and exceed national (HP2010) and state (Healthy North Carolinians 2010) targets for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS and related risk factors. This project is a collaboration between Nursing, Public Health, Exercise and Sport Science, the Institute for   Health, Science, and Society, and the Center for New North Carolinians at UNCG and   Languages and Nursing at NC A & T State University. The long term goal is to assist the   community, region, and state in meeting the health needs of a rapidly increasing, diverse   citizenry in a culturally and linguistically competent manner. For more information visit the project website at http://www.uncg.edu/nur/triadproject