Preparing Health Educators to Address Behavioral Determinants of Health

DFM Key Personnel

• Richard Brown MD, MPH - Principal Investigator
• Laura Saunders - Project Staff

Funding

UW Wisconsin Partnership Project

Summary of Project

A new workforce in Wisconsin and throughout the US is needed to provide one-on-one behavioral screening and intervention (BSI) for the unhealthy behaviors and behavioral conditions that cause over 40% of all deaths, 75% of chronic diseases, and most disability in the US,and generate over $600 billion in costs per year.  BSI also addresses depression, which exacts additional burden through poor quality of life, productivity loss, poor self- management of chronic illness, and suicide, and carries an additional $82 billion in costs.

Goals

The goals of this project are to create, refine and disseminate a curricular model to develop a workforce that will systematically administer evidence-based, cost-saving behavioral screening and intervention (BSI) services in Wisconsin and US healthcare settings.

Methods

• Prepare UW-La Crosse health education faculty to deliver the curriculum components related to BSI, and continue to develop their expertise (Years 1, 2 and 3)
• Design an integrated curriculum on behavioral screening and intervention for the Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education (BS-CHE) program at UW-La Crosse (UW-L), including the clinical Preceptorship experience at affiliated healthcare settings (Year 1)
• Implement most elements of the curriculum for up to 12 students (Year 2) and refine them based on rigorous evaluation
• Identify and work with current and new healthcare settings to serve as Preceptorship sites
• Implement and evaluate the full curriculum (Year 3)
• Disseminate the curriculum and findings, and seek funding for state and national expansion