Seed Grant

Dr. Shailvi Gupta, MD, MPH, FACS (SOM) received a $20,000 seed grant for Global Health Reimagined:  A Path to Decolonization. Contributing faculty include Carlos Faerron Guzman, MD, MSc (Graduate) and B. Elias Snyder, MS, FNP-C, ACHPN, PhD(c) (SON). Addressing global health challenges necessitates a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and collaborative approach, as these issues are embedded in complex systems that are the product of diverse social, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. It is widely understood that no one perspective, be it cultural, ethical, political or academic, can develop the best solution to a problem alone, particularly at a population level. The Institute, Global Health Reimagined:  A Path to Decolonization, aims to facilitate collaboration and knowledge-sharing among students and faculty from diverse health professions, thereby promoting a more inclusive and holistic approach to global health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). This interdisciplinary and integrated approach will enable the development of innovative and equitable strategies to address pressing global health concerns and contribute to the advancement of health equity and improved population health outcomes. To learn more, contact Dr. Gupta at shailvi.gupta@som.umaryland.edu.

Health Equity Seed Grant

Snehal T. Patel, MD, MHS (SOM) and Robyn Gilden, PhD, MS, RN (SON) received a $25,000 seed grant for Climate Change and Health Equity: An Interprofessional Education Collaboration. Contributing faculty include Timothy Canty, PhD (UMCP), Shiladitya DasSarma, PhD (MEES-UMB), Erin Golembewski, PhD (Graduate), Shailvi Gupta, MD, MPH, FACS (SOM), Nicole Mattocks, PhD, LMSW (SSW), William Piermattei, JD (SOL), and Karin Guther Russ, JD, MS, RN (SON). The wide-ranging impacts of climate change are fueling a “climate gap” and further exacerbating existing health inequities. The interprofessional Climate Change and Health Equity in Maryland collaboration aims – as a first step – to develop and implement a Climate Change and Health Equity course, which will empower students from professional tracks across UMB and UMCP to take greater responsibility for addressing the complex, multi-faceted health and socioeconomic issues arising from climate change through analysis and action. The main course deliverable will be a campus and community symposium on climate change with an emphasis on solutions to the problems resulting in Baltimore and State of Maryland. The long-term objective for this initiative is to create a core of interprofessional courses around climate change, health equity, and environmental sciences and justice to be offered to students across USM. At the conclusion of this project, the IPEC team will work together to prepare an MPower proposal to develop a long-term plan for a continuing partnership between UMCP and UMB in this area. To learn more, contact Dr. Patel at snehal.patel@som.umaryland.edu or Dr. Gilden at rgilden@umaryland.edu.

Kelly Doran, PhD, RN, FAAN (SON) received a $20,000 seed grant for CEC Public Health Community-Based IPE Training Program. Contributing faculty include Jackie Adams, MA (Office of Community Engagement), Danielle Baek, MD (SOM) and Norman Retener, MD, FACP (SOM). The CEC Public Health Suite is a community-based, nurse-run public health intervention with an interprofessional education focus that utilizes a patient-centered, trauma-informed, participatory service model that allows the neighbor to set the goal for each appointment and prioritize the needs to be addressed. The community-based IPE training program will provide students with an opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team with each member having a clearly defined role and responsibilities that require them to work collaboratively and communicate effectively with each other and the neighbors to ensure fidelity to the model and ensure that the neighbor’s stated need(s) are addressed. The training encompasses all IPEC core competencies inclusive of roles and responsibilities; communication; values/ethics; and teamwork. These competencies are woven into training focused on working with neighbors in the CEC Public Health Suite. Students engaged in service learning at the CEC Public Health Suite will participate in one or more of three activities: 1) outreach (street, housing, event, etc. to promote connections between neighbors and CEC services, as well as linkages to care); 2) educational activities such as lunch and learns at the CEC and interactive education classes; and 3) health suite visits. To learn more, contact Dr. Doran at kdoran@umaryland.edu or Ms. Adams at jacquelineadams@umaryland.edu.

People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities Seed Grant

Rebecca N. Weston, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE (SON) received a $25,000 seed grant for Collaborating Across Disciplines to Recruit, Train, Retrain and Effectively Utilize People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities as Standardized Patients. Contributing faculty include Nancy Culpepper, MBA (SON), Samantha Fuld, DSW, MSW, LCSW-C (SSW), Norman Retener, MD, FACP (SOM) and Patricia Schaefer, DNP, RN, CNE-cl, CHSE, CNE (SON). Major healthcare organizations across the country agree that the need for thorough and inclusive disability education in health sciences curricula is imperative to create care providers across all disciplines who can provide ethically and developmentally appropriate care to people with disabilities across the lifespan. The addition of this greatly under-represented population of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (PWIDD) to our Standardized Patient Program will allow all of UMB’s healthcare disciplines to create numerous interprofessional simulations and activities utilizing PWIDD, which has not been possible before. Including people with disabilities into our simulation education helps expose students to real scenarios and people who can speak to the genuine issues related to their disability and its impact on their life and their health. In collaboration with the Special Olympics International and Special Olympics Maryland, the University of Maryland Baltimore will enhance our ability to provide this essential interprofessional instruction to students through the intentional recruitment and training of Special Olympics Health Messengers into its Standardized Patient Program. To learn more, contact Dr. Weston at rweston@umaryland.edu.