Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Ambulance Service Coverage In Rural Coventry, Vermont, Katelynn Briere

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Ambulance service coverage is made difficult by the rural landscape of many Vermont towns. Discrepancies in quality and cost of ambulance service providers can make it difficult for town administrators to decide which service would be best for their town. This decision is even more important in towns like Coventry, Vermont where there is no in-town ambulance service. Providing town administrators with informative documents is one way to assist them in the decision making process.

Assisting Rural Mat Patients Through Peer Social Support, Anthony Plochocki

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Throughout the COVID19 Pandemic, there has been a spike in opioid relapse and opioid overdose related death. This problem, though multifactorial, can be attributed to lack of social outlets for MAT patients. Now that different social support groups are reopening, there is a greater emphasis placed on groups for patients suffering with alcoholism rather than those suffering from opioid addiction. This project hopes to plant the seeds for group therapy for MAT patients, giving them a social outlet with the hopeful outcome assisting patients with forming non-user networks.

Transportation To Little Rivers Health Clinic In Wells River, Vermont, Anupama Balasubramanian

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Transportation to healthcare appointments is one of the biggest challenges that rural patients face. Currently, there are no resources available to patients at Little Rivers Health Care that can help them with transportation-related knowledge. This project aims to create a guide that improves patients' understanding of the options they have available in getting to their appointments.

Improving Housing-Insecurity Screening In A Rural Primary Care Setting, Heather G. Giguere

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Housing-insecurity and homelessness have a direct impact on individual health, and are well established causes of premature morbidity and mortality (6). Screening for housing-insecurity leads to earlier identification, and more extensive engagement of services, which can help to mitigate the individual and public health ramifications of these social determinants of health (8). The aim of this project was to improve the screening process for housing-insecurity within an rural primary care setting.

Improving Access To Medication Assisted Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder In A Rural Emergency Department, Warren Grunvald

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a growing epidemic throughout the United States and Maine has not been sparred by this. As the Emergency Department is a frequent location for people with OUD to interact with physicians it has been targeted as an opportunity to initiate Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) with Suboxone. This project details an effort to streamline this process and improve outcomes for patients interested in MAT.

Improving access to medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in a rural Emergency Department

Improving Access To Medication Assisted Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder In A Rural Emergency Department, Warren Grunvald

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a growing epidemic throughout the United States and Maine has not been sparred by this. As the Emergency Department is a frequent location for people with OUD to interact with physicians it has been targeted as an opportunity to initiate Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) with Suboxone. This project details an effort to streamline this process and improve outcomes for patients interested in MAT.

Barriers To Head And Neck Cancer Treatment In Rural Populations, Amy K. Chang

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Head and Neck cancer (HNC) patients have unique outcomes and resource needs. They often experience debilitating speech, nutrition, respiratory, and psychological problems, requiring a multidisciplinary team. Additionally, they also require more support in terms of alcohol and tobacco support, whether that be an addiction medicine specialist or a support group. The coordination of these specialists is difficult in a rural setting with limited resources. Furthermore, HNC is more prevalent in developing countries and rural populations due to use of known etiological factors like tobacco and alcohol. The combination of high prevalence and low resources in rural populations may lead to …

Preventative Health Care Shortage, Jenna A. Elkhoury

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The primary care shortage is major problem that impacts people in rural and often low income communities. Our project seeks to address the primary care workforce shortage affecting the Vermont and Connecticut communities by better understanding current medical school student perspectives on primary care as a career of interest. Attractors and deterrents of primary care were highlighted through a survey distributed to all medical students at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

The Preventative Healthcare Shortage: A Look At The Vt And Ct Community Perspectives And Medical Student Interest, Michael J. Lawler

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

We adapted and modified a previously generated survey to better understand the motivations and barriers of medical students to enter primary care. The survey was dispersed to all medical students at LCOM as well as third and fourth year medical students at Ross University and American University of the Caribbean (AUC). We analyzed preliminary data from 100 respondents. Notable barriers identified included cost of medical school, stigma associated with primary care, and inadequate time spent with patients. Recommendations for possible intervention were discussed.

Patient Education On Sweetened Beverages: An Interactive And Module-Based Approach, Matt Tsai

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

As sugary beverages continue to contribute to negative health outcomes, there remains a need for efficient, effective patient education in this area. A custom, interactive and reflective web-based module on sugary beverages for adult participants (n=42) was introduced at a rural Vermont outpatient clinic. Built-in quizzes evaluated learning through a pre and post-intervention design. On average, participants improved significantly from a pre-module mean score of 3.00 to a post-module score of 4.33 (p<0.0001). Additionally, participants' average rating of the module's effectiveness was 8.3 out of 10. A module-based approach may be one efficacious solution to improve patient education on sugary beverage consumption.

Gender Nonconforming Children: Education For Rural Vermont Families, Zachary Silberman

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Trans and Gender Nonconforming children and adolescents make up an increasing percentage of today's youth. Many of their families, parents, and healthcare providers lack information on how to address the topic. Additionally, the lack of research in the field, and the ever changing definitions, can make it difficult to navigate and, as a result, there are several persistent myths and misconceptions. This project seeks to address these myths, the terminology as currently used, and local community resources from a patient and family perspective, specifically targeted at rural Vermont.

Ambulance Response Times In A Rural Vt Town: Is There A Role For Fema’S “Ready” Training In Hinesburg, Vt?, Kyna Silvana Donohue

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The purpose of this project was to examine the ambulance response times in a rural town in Vermont. The goal was to determine if there is a role for FEMA's "Until Help Arrives" campaign to increase bystander ability to provide immediate and life-saving medical care.

Using Online Behavioral Health Modules To Expand Care In Rural New York State, Matthew Sommers

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

There are substantial barriers to receiving behavioral health in rural areas such as Upstate New York. Online modules are an evidence-supported option that could exist within a primary care focused stepped-care model, expand access, and increase efficiency of existing resources.

Diabetic Eating At The Dollar Store, Lee Hiromoto

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Ideas on following a diabetic diet using ingredients from a dollar store.

Nutrition And Exercise Resources For Clinton County, Paige M. Wood

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The obesity epidemic is a nation wide problem that has increased prevalence in Clinton County, NY when compared to the surrounding areas. Obesity leads to many co-morbid health conditions and is associated with a large increase in health care spending costs. This brochure tackles the limited resources, such as limited number of fitness centers, lack of nutrition education and an overall lower socioeconomic status, that is present in the Clinton County area. This brochure offers help in these areas through free phone applications which cover nutrition education, healthy shopping guidance, at home exercise routines, motivation, habit trackers and mindfulness exercises.

Assessing Transportation Hurtles In Lamoille County, Vt, Brian J. Rosen

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Rural areas are often characterized by low population densities, and large distances between available services and the population they serve. Lack of transportation in these areas makes access to services even more challenging. Access to primary healthcare was listed as the number one concern for patients in 2015 Copley Hospital Service Area (Lamoille County) and lack of suitable transportation was a major reason for this lack of access. The primary purpose of this project was to assess the medical transportation options for patients without appropriate transportation in Lamoille county, and to produce a flyer educating the patients about their options. …

Promoting Awareness Of The Opioid Epidemic In Rural Vermont, Kathleen Olson

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Vermont is in the middle of an opioid epidemic. Heroin use fatalities are on the rise and the number of people in treatment for opioid use disorder in Rutland County has tripled in recent years. Despite this widespread problem, community members of Rutland County feel that there is reluctance to talk about opioid misuse and lack of awareness. This project aims to bring awareness, provide resources, and encourage people struggling with opioid use disorder to seek treatment.

Rural Teens And Stress, Morgan R. Pratt

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Stress is significantly associated with risk taking behavior and increasing depression/anxiety among teens. There is no shortage of stressors experienced within the teenage years.This project's aim is to create a pamphlet that can be available for teens in rural Vermont. It will contain apps for healthy lifestyle, stress, mood, mindfulness as well as local help line numbers for teens in crisis and signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Barriers To Affordable Prescriptions In Rural Vermont, Niketu P. Patel

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project aimed at understanding why people in Rutland County, Vermont struggle with buying medications for their health. The project implemented and proposed several methods to help the population of Rutland area better adapt to the growing cost of prescriptions via $4 medication lists, rebates, samples, etc.

Reducing Falls: Merging Research And Community Resources, Alison Mercier

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

1/3 of older adults over the age of 65 fall, 10% of these falls can lead to serious injuries like hip fractures. The average length of life for someone who fractures their hip is 6 months. The risk and reasons for falling are multifactorial and often take a long time to assess. There are a few evidence based recommendations for reducing fall risk, yet a lack of awareness of these recommendations, and community resources to address this need. This project aimed to create a standardized assessment tool based on literature research and available community resources to facilitate fall risk assessment …

Tackling Obesity In Rural Vermont, Abishag Suresh

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obesity is a growing epidemic across the United States. It affects rural areas such as those in Vermont deeply. An intervention addressing this problem using a health and exercise brochure was undertaken. Future direction will need to fully address the effectiveness of this intervention and take on other goals.

Transportation Is A Barrier To Healthcare In Central Vermont, Apoorva Trivedi

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Transportation is a significant barrier to healthcare access in Central Vermont due to a variety of reasons that include low income households, poor access to public transportation, elderly populations, and populations with disabilities. Improving access to transportation is a goal for both the local public transportation authority and the UVMHN-Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, VT. The purpose of this project was twofold. The first goal was to find an underutilized transportation resource in the community by heavily researching the area's transportation system and coordinating the distribution of informational sheets regarding this resource with my family medicine clerkship site members. …

Promoting Physical Activity Using Walking Poles In Senior Citizens Of Southern Vermont's Deerfield Valley Region, Siyeon A. Seong

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Walking poles have been shown to be beneficial in increasing physical activity and improving functional outcomes. Walking poles have been recommended during patient encounters using an informational pamphlet at Deerfield Valley Health Center in Wilmington, VT.

Preventing Lyme Disease In Windsor County, Vt, J P

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted primarily by deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis). A deer tick must be attached for at least 36 hours for transmission to occur. It can be prevented by preventing tick bites, removing ticks early, and providing post-bite prophylaxis when appropriate. Lyme disease has been on the rise in Vermont since 2005. The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) has launched its “Be Tick Smart” Lyme disease prevention campaign, promoting tick-bite reduction through its slogan, “Repel, Inspect, Remove.” This project extended the campaign to school children in Windsor County, Vermont.

Polypharmacy Management In A Rural Family Medicine Practice: View From Multiple Perspectives, Sarah Anne Kelso

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Polypharmacy is a growing problem in the United States. The elderly population is expanding, and the use of specialists to manage their healthcare is increasing. This project looks at the role of the primary care physician at a rural Family Medicine practice in reducing the risks of polypharmacy. The perspectives of patients and the local pharmacist were used to create an education tool about polypharmacy management within this community. Increased awareness of this issue and how it applies to patients within the practice were the results of this intervention.