Washington, D.C. –Today, the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) announced that its Interprofessional Collaboration Research Grants, in the total amount $50,000, have been awarded to three recipients: Dr. Lisa Benz Scott for Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP); Dr. Sharon Martino to address pediatric obesity; and Dr. Genevieve Zipp for Interprofessional Avatar Based Simulations. The grant program led by ASAHP’s Research Committee is designed to support innovative research projects with the highest potential to produce new knowledge and paradigms towards success in interprofessional collaboration. The 2021 inaugural Interprofessional Collaboration Grant was in the amount of $25,000 and went to one program.

“We are delighted to be able to double the total amount of the 2022 grant and to bestow it on three worthy recipients,” said ASAHP President Deb Larsen PhD, FASAHP. “The solid progress in research we saw from Dr. Jiale (Gary) Hu from Virginia Commonwealth University, our 2021 grant recipient, coupled with the strong grant proposals from many of our member institutions, inspired us to increase the amount and the number of grantees.”

All three Grantees will be invited to present their work at the 2023 ASAHP Annual Conference.

Here’s more information about this year’s recipients:

The Healthy Libraries Program: An Innovative IPE Model in a Community Setting

$11,571 Grant awarded to:
Primary Investigator (PI) Dr. Lisa Benz Scott from Stony Brook University

This grant will expand the field of public health practice and interprofessional education (IPE) by providing an in-depth comprehensive analysis of health professions’ educational learning outcomes in nursing, public health, and social work as they collaborate to provide access to preventive health screenings, education, social and health care resources in the public library setting. The Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) community-based interprofessional education programs train teams of nursing, public health, and social work students to deliver health screenings, education, and referral to health and social services within public libraries. Students participate in HeLP while fulfilling course requirements in their respective degree programs and are trained to provide library patrons with evidence-based health information, blood pressure screenings, and case management for free.

Dr. Lisa Benz Scott, PhD, Professor and Executive Director of the Program in Public Health, and Founder and Co-Director of the Healthy Libraries Program, and PI of this initiative said, “Successful outcomes of this model program will allow us to replicate the HeLP model in other communities locally, regionally, and nationally through academic-community partnerships elsewhere.”

Added Dr. Hal Paz, MD, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, Stony Brook University, and Chief Executive Officer, Stony Brook University Medicine, “This grant demonstrates the commitment of Stony Brook’s Health Sciences Schools and Programs to delivering innovative partnership programs based on research. It also further connects our faculty, staff, and students to the health care needs of communities across Long Island.”

Fit Kids for Life: An Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Program Addressing Pediatric Obesity

$19,807 Grant awarded to:
PI Dr. Sharon Martino from Stony Brook University.

This grant will allow a group of diverse health care professionals representing physical therapy, nursing, medicine, respiratory care, dietetics, physician assistant education, and disability studies, to implement an interdisciplinary service-learning program addressing pediatric obesity as part of the Fit Kids for Life program at Stony Brook University. This model will combine educational training, hands-on assessments and treatment, as well as team building skills for several groups of interprofessional students from Stony Brook University. Assessments of readiness to participate in an interdisciplinary model along with student perceptions of interprofessional learning will be made. To directly assess the effects of the program, children with obesity will undergo several health outcomes and be compared to a wait list control group. Information learned from this experiential study will serve to inform other interprofessional collaborative health care models needed to address contemporary, complex health care issues.

Dr. Sharon Martino, PT PhD, Associate Director of Fit Kids for Life, and PI of this project said, “ We are excited to provide this experiential program for our healthcare students and we look forward to seeing the program’s effect on all of the participants.”

Added Stony Brook School of Health Professions (SHP) Dean Stacy Jaffee Gropack, “The missions of the SHP and ASAHP in promoting and advancing health through interprofessional collaboration are well aligned and we are grateful to ASAHP for providing funding for Dr. Martino and her colleagues to move their important work forward.”

Interprofessional Avatar Based Simulations: A Low Stakes Tool to Promote Professional Readiness to Support and Manage Patient’s Unexpected Life Altering Medical Diagnosis via Telehealth

$18,622 Grant is awarded to:
PI Dr. Genevieve Pinto Zipp from Seton Hall University

This grant will allow researchers to design and evaluate an interprofessional active learning simulation (ALS) experience using a virtual reality (VR) avatar-based character that possesses a blend of artificial and human intelligence to enable health professional students to interact as the “human in the situation.” This project aims to prepare students to support and manage patient’s unexpected and life altering medical diagnosis via a telehealth practice model. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if participation in an Interprofessional Avatar Based Simulation Experience (IABSE) promotes professional overall student readiness. Simulation experiences in healthcare education programs are used to promote an understanding of complex ideas through active learning.

Dr. Genevieve Pinto Zipp, P.T., Ed.D., FNAP and PI of this project said, “This grant award will enable our team to expand our exploration of low stakes meaningful active learning avatar simulation experiences that further bridge the gap between coursework and clinical practice. Using our previously piloted Telehealth team science approach to simulation, we believe we can promote students’ readiness to address the needs of patient’s dealing with unexpected life altering bad news.”

Added Dean Brian Shulman,“This grant is a testimony to our school’s ongoing commitment to interprofessional education, collaboration, and care as we prepare tomorrow’s healthcare industry professionals.”

About ASAHP

The Association of School Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) is a national professional organization of 130 universities and employers focused on critical issues affecting health professions education. ASAHP’s mission is to advance health professions education and discovery through interprofessional collaboration, leadership, excellence, and innovation.

Contact:
Kristen Truong
kristen@asahp.org
Director of Public Affairs
ASAHP