Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Screening For Developmental Delays In Brandon Vt, Flang Nguyen

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Brandon Medical Center (BMC) currently uses the developmental milestones screening tool built into their electronic medical record to look for developmental delays. Usage of the tool has been awkward, inconvenient, and unmanageable in the office setting. BMC, being the main health care provider for newborns, infants, and toddlers of Brandon, VT, is looking to improve their screening systems for developmental delays during well-child visits

Assessing Patient Barriers To Community Health Team Referral, Benjamin Scott Albertson

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Objective: To assess patient barriers to Community Health Team (CHT) referrals at Hinesburg Family Practice.

Methods: Patients of Hinesburg Family Practice who were referred to the CHT by a physician and subsequently declined to be seen within the last 15 months were interviewed via telephone to assess what barriers prevented them from accessing CHT services. Twenty five patients were identified and called a minimum of 3 times using contact information obtained from the EHR. Eleven patients were contacted, one of whom had since followed through with the CHT. Responses from the ten patients who met the criteria and …

Increasing Naloxone Availability, Brian Till

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Administration of naloxone is credited with the reversal of at least 10,000 opioid overdoses in the United States between 1996-2010 alone.[i] Moreover, intranasal naloxone has proven an equally effective route of drug administration when compared to IV dosing in emergent prehospital settings[ii], and retrospective studies have shown no significant difference in efficacy between doses delivered by healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals.[iii] Despite these facts, and broad protections provided to physicians prescribing naloxone and citizens administering naloxone outlined in Vermont Act 75, few if any Vermont physicians have incorporated prescribing naloxone into their practice. This project intended …

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Ptsd And Other Service-Related Conditions In The Veteran Patient Population, Christopher Mayhew

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

There are approximately 48,602 veterans living in the state of Vermont with roughly 20% residing in Chittenden County. According to national VA statistics, only 40% of the veteran population receives some health care from the VA. Currently UVM providers receive no formal training in delivering care to veterans and there are no military history templates or PTSD screening tools in PRISM. Giving community providers access to basic VA tools, information and resources will help improve the quality of care they offer to their veteran patients.

Online Summer Activity Tracker For Teens, Jamie E. Richter

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

To address teenage obesity by encouraging physical activity and making teens aware of time spent in passive activities. Teens will be able to log onto an interactive web site to track their physical activity and earn raffle entries for reaching fitness goals. Teens will also be asked to track their computer and TV time to make them more aware of how much time they spend in these passive activities.

Pediatric Lipid Screening Guidelines: Information For Patients And Families, Erin R. Pichiotino, Mph

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Universal Pediatric Lipid Screening Guidelines are currently based on expert opinion only. Bright Futures/American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends screening all patients ages 9-11 and again at ages 17-21. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), however, concludes the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening. This discordance leaves ambiguity for implementation in Family Medicine practices in Vermont. A survey of providers at Milton Family Practice showed that only 14% of providers at Milton Family Practice regularly perform lipid screening on their pediatric patients.

Lyme Disease Awareness In Downeast Maine, Justin L. Genziano

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted by the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). Lyme disease is endemic in the state of Maine with 1,399 probable and confirmed cases reported in 2014. The rate in coastal Hancock County has doubled since 2012, and has the third highest rate of infection in the state.

Medical providers in Hancock County have observed an increase in anxiety and concern about Lyme disease in the community, and have found that much of this is driven by hearsay or unreliable information from the internet. The goal of this project …

Increasing Patient Knowledge Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Sleep Studies, Billy Tran

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Sleep Apnea is a common and shockingly under-diagnosed disorder. OSA has various health consequences, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Many patients don't ask about OSA due to lack of awareness and an intimidation about the process of care for OSA. This project helps to increasing understanding of the sleep study and make OSA a more approachable disorder

Screening, Brief Intervention And Referral To Treatment For Substance Abuse In Waitsfield, Vt, Chi An Liu

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Substance abuse is an issue in Waitsfield, VT and currently there is no formal program or intervention at Mad River Family Practice to help patients overcome their addictions. Screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is a program to identify at risk patients, raise awareness of their abuse, and help them find support and treatment they need.

Application Of One Key Question At Hinesburg Family Practice, Katherine Y. Wang

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

About one half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended (mistimed or unwanted). Only 54% of pregnancies in Vermont are planned and only 29% of women in Vermont have talked to a health care worker about healthy pregnancies prior to conception. Physicians are equipped to provide the necessary information to women about preconception care and contraception, but do not regularly have these conversations with the majority of their patients. One Key Question is an initiative developed by the Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health that allows providers to screen women patients for their pregnancy intention in the next year and …

Assessing The Perceptions And Knowledge Of Breast Cancer And Mammography In The Refugee Population, Patrick Silveira

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Identifying Sleep Disorders And Proper Sleep Hygiene In School-Aged Children, Kathryn Colelli

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Sleep is a daily struggle for many people. Children in particular often suffer from sleep restriction and poor sleep hygiene. Poor sleep can have a negative impact on their physical, social and emotional health. Children in our community are rarely educated about sleep disorders or sleep hygiene. The goal of this project was to create a learning tool to help facilitate sleep education in children.

Mental Health Awareness Among High School And College Students: Barriers To Knowledge, Accessibility, And Utilization Of Resources, Imelda Muller

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

In 75% of individuals with mental health illness, age of onset is prior to 24. High School and College Students often face unique life stressors that increase their vulnerability to mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and suicide. Students facing mental health issues in Danbury often do not receive adequate support. This is partially attributable to lack of knowledge about mental health, stigma, and lack of available mental health resources specific for this age group. Students who do not receive these supports during times of vulnerability perform more poorly in school, have lower rates of completing high school and college, …

Managing Medications: Promoting Awareness Of The Importance Of Accurate Medication Lists, Christopher Meserve

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Extensive medication lists are a problem everywhere throughout the United States. As a rural state that has a rapidly aging population, these lists will continue to grow and the added aspect of lack of access to services (whether via the internet or transportation) makes managing these medication lists harder for Maine’s population. The perspectives of patients at the CMMC Family Medicine Clinic were obtained through an anonymous survey, and two interviews with community members were conducted to identify specific issues. The feedback and responses from both of these methods were incorporated into an informational pamphlet that was distributed within the …

Better Teeth, Better Health: Identifying Challenges With Dental Care In Lewiston, Me, Mary B. Ledoux

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

My project aimed to elucidate barriers to dental health care in the Lewiston-Auburn community. Obstacles highlighted included cost of care, lack of education and guidance in preventative oral health, and paucity of resources available to aid patients in identifying affordable programs. The data generated can be used in the future to better direct oral health interventions at CMMC Family Practice Clinic. Additionally, the survey responses were used to assemble educational material to distribute to patients.

An Introduction To Alcohol Use Disorder And Motivational Interviewing At Henry Abbott Technical High School In Danbury, Ct, Laura D. Leonard, Dylan C. Hershkowitz

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

We presented to high school students interested in careers in health about alcohol use and motivational interviewing. We demonstrated effective motivational interviewing skills including asking open ended questions, using non-judgmental language and eliciting change talk from patients. Finally we facilitated breakout sessions which allowed students to practice identifying at risk behaviors and to practice motivational interviewing.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis For Hiv Prevention: A Community-Based Approach To Increased Awareness Among Vermont Primary Care Providers, Nicholas Robert Bonenfant

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

More than 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV and nearly 1 in 8 (12.8%) are unaware of their status. The incidence has been consistently around 50,000 new infections per year and of those newly diagnosed, the men who have sex with men (MSM) population carries the largest burden. Federal costs continue to rise for HIV/AIDS treatment nationally and this continues to represent a significant portion of healthcare costs here in Vermont. More needs to be done to prevent this chronic illness.

In 2012 the FDA approved a medication for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): Truvada. There is clear evidence of …

Bridging The Gap, Amy Wei-Hsin Yu

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many elders must choose between paying bills, buying medication or buying food. Some elders are unaware that they qualify for food assistance, or would feel stigmatized using it. Only 1 in 3 eligible seniors (60+) participate in 3SquaresVT (SNAP), a federal nutrition program of the USDA administered by the Vermont Department for Children and Families. Over 14,000 (11%) of Vermont seniors face the threat of hunger and almost 7,000 (5%) are at-risk for hunger (food-insecure). Food insecurity can be screened for by using Hunger Free Vermont’s Two Question Screen.

Added Sugars: Educating The Public On New Guidelines, Michael A. Grant

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Added sugars are a non-nutritional source of calories found in many food products where people do not expect to find them. There is ongoing discussion of the healthy amount of added sugars to consume as well as new guidelines and labeling efforts. This project reviews the epidemiology of a small town in VT and considers ways to improve the awareness of added sugars and how to reduce the amount consumed by its residents.

Lewiston Community Health Improvement Project, Bryce M. Bludevich

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Community Health improvement project about low back pain and alternative treatment options. Particularly focuses on different treatment options in Lewiston, ME.

The Rationale For And Use Of Assessment Frameworks: Improving Assessment And Reporting Quality In Medical Education, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards, Julian Fraillon, Hamish Coates, Benedict Canny, David Wilkinson

Dr Daniel Edwards

An assessment framework provides a structured conceptual map of the learning outcomes of a programme of study along with details of how achievement of the outcomes can be measured. The rationale for using frameworks to underpin the targeting of essential content components is especially relevant for the medical education community. Frameworks have the capacity to improve validity and reliability in assessment, allowing test developers to more easily create robust assessment instruments. The framework used by the Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC) is an interesting and relevant case study for the international community as it draws and builds on established processes …

Building Skills, Knowledge And Confidence In Eating And Exercise Behaviour Change: Brief Motivational Interviewing Training For Healthcare Providers, Peta Stapleton, Elizabeth Edwards, Kelly Williams, Lauren Ball

Peta B. Stapleton

Obesity related health problems affect individuals, families, communities and the broader health care system, however few healthcare providers (e.g., doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, counselors) receive formal training in obesity prevention interventions. We examined the effectiveness of training healthcare providers in brief motivational interviewing (brief MI) targeting eating and exercise behavior change. METHODS: 163 healthcare providers participated. 128 participants completed a one-day experiential brief MI training workshop followed by electronic peer-support and a further 35 matched controls did not receive the training. RESULTS: Participant's knowledge of brief MI and confidence in their ability to counsel patients using brief MI significantly …

Top Information Need Priorities Of Older Adults Newly Diagnosed With Active Myeloma, Joseph D. Tariman Phd

Joseph D Tariman PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN

No abstract provided.