Posters

Incorporating Advanced Dental Therapists in School Settings: Shaping the future of healthcare

Sonika Masih, Assistant Professor, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Incorporating advanced dental therapists in school settings can significantly affect community well-being and shape the future of healthcare. It can lead to collaboration between healthcare professionals in schools leading to improved access to care and reducing disparities. Engaging in community outreach and raising awareness about the importance of oral health to overall health early in life will lead to overall health in the community. This can serve as a model in future for more multidisciplinary approaches towards care of overall health. Collaboration between nurses and dental services provider facilitates a holistic approach to health.

Equity & Wellness for Marginalized Communities: Social Determinants of Health in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Kristi Oeding, Au.D./Ph.D. Assistant Professor and R. Danielle Scott, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor; Minnesota State University, Mankato

The World Health Organization defines social determinants of health as "the complex circumstances in which individuals are born and live that impact their health", which include intangible factors such as political, socioeconomic, and cultural constructs, as well as place-based conditions including accessible healthcare and education systems, safe environmental conditions, well-designed neighborhoods, and availability of healthful food. (Di Sante & Potvin, 2022; World Health Organization, 2021). To reduce health disparities, CSD professionals should meaningfully engage diverse communities, develop inclusive partnerships, and increase institutional accountability around health equity. This series of six poster presentations will discuss the intersection of wellness, health equity, and clinical implications for the communication sciences and disorders discipline. Specific topic areas include:

  • Remediating Disparities in Communication Wellness and Educational Speech-Language Pathology;
  • Fostering inclusion for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind Communities;
  • Increasing Health and Wellbeing: Designing Dementia Friendly Communities of Care;
  • Building Partnerships with Diverse Communities in Early Childhood Speech-Language Pathology;
  • Facilitating Racial Equity in Speech-Language Pathology: The Impact on Health and Wellness;
  • Equity and Access to Affordable Health & Wellness Services in Audiology.

Capitalizing on Engagement and Senses for Individuals with Dementia

Kaitlyn Sizer, Hailey Eibes, Emily Rowbotham, Jasmine Ortuno Jiminez
Student Researchers, MSU, Mankato

The stigma against dementia persists while few dementia friendly programs currently exist. Montessori-based activities are designed to offer active and meaningful engagement and provide socialization and enjoyment for individuals with dementia despite their cognitive deficits (Hindt, Morris, Sohre, & Buchanan, 2018; Jarrot, Gozali, & Gigliotti, 2008). Research participants in this study comprised of eight college students who completed specialized dementia-friends training. Student participants conducted two 30-minute activities with a small group of residents with dementia twice a week for ten weeks. This study aims to examine meaningful engagement by comparing two Montessori-based activities addressing verbal modality vs. multiple senses. Two Montessori activities, Memory Bingo and a Sensory Station have been created to facilitate among individuals with dementia. The Sensory station allows individuals with dementia to explore a variety of theme-based objects (e.g., flowers, pots, watering cans, etc.) along with a theme-based scent. This activity promotes individuals with dementia to engage with student volunteers while capitalizing on their five senses encouraging them to reminisce and engage in theme-based conversation without requiring demand on their impaired short-term memory. Memory Bingo is similar to Bingo but replaces the numbers on the bingo cards with theme-based sounds that may be familiar to the individual. This activity allows individuals with dementia to recognize sounds and relate the corresponding sound to a memory they may potentially have. Qualitative and quantitative measures prior to and after completing the program will be conducted to measure student perceptions on ageism, dementia, and meaningful engagement. The expected outcome of this programming is for student volunteers to develop and facilitate purposeful engagement activities by maximizing the abilities of individuals with dementia.

Exploring Communication Behaviors of a Resident with Dementia using Montessori-Based Activities

Alison Brunmeier, Zoe Porter and Alyssa Bartholow
Student Researchers, MSU, Mankato

The purpose of the study was to explore how implementation of a Montessori-based group activity promotes more active engagement for individuals with dementia. The study explored activity implementation with a progressive complexity influencing engagement amongst individuals with dementia. Activity modification includes simplifying task demands (downward) and challenging cognitive and motor skills (upward) (Jarrott, Gozali, & Gigliotti., 2008). This treasure hunt activity required an individual with dementia to use their senses of vision, hearing, touch, and verbal skills along with motor movements to help identify objects in the themed tray. The goal of this activity is to stimulate long-term memories and discussion to enforce a meaningful engagement. Individuals with dementia were invited to participate, prompted to engage, identify different objects in the bin and share their thoughts. Pre-set questions were developed to support conversation based on the individuals’ abilities and their intact senses. For example, “this looks like a spoon to me. Let's look at this together” for the downward version. “What would you like to say about this? What does this remind you of?” for the upward version. Research participants were eight college students who completed a dementia-friends training and mentored by a faculty member specialized in dementia. Research participants conducted the activity with a small group of residents with dementia twice a week for ten weeks. Each participant interacted one on one with an individual with dementia on the activity and engaged in a personal conversation. Research participants followed a protocol to identify preferred complexity version (upward/downward) based on engagement level and conduct the activity with modifications as needed for individuals with dementia. Data will be obtained with a five-point rating scale on targeted communication engagement. Specific measures will be used to document their perception on ageism, dementia, and engagement of individuals with dementia. The expected outcome is for college students to create appropriate meaningful engagement activities by capitalizing on abilities in individuals with dementia.

Assessing the Benefits of Otter: Assistive Technologies in Hearing Healthcare

Farah Azhar and Kristi Oeding; Assistant professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Technology is changing rapidly and with this, innovations for connection may benefit people who do not have ready access to hearing healthcare. While about 2/3 of American adults have hearing loss at age 70 and older, only about 30% of adults obtain a hearing device. This has to do with many issues, such as access to care, including insurance benefits, transportation, and cost of devices, along with stigma of hearing loss. With increases in technology, there are many free options available to adults with hearing loss that could help them connect to loved ones and to become more connected with their community. One of these options is the use of artificial intelligence on cellphones. This technology could remove barriers for patients and improve communication with their loved ones at home and in social settings. This is particularly important for rural areas where research has shown that rural areas have a high risk for hearing loss, but some of the poorest access to hearing services (Planey, 2019). The goal of this research is to examine artificial technology in a cellphone app called Otter.ai and how it can benefit persons with hearing loss. A literature review will be conducted to determine the available research on artificial intelligence in hearing healthcare in regards to captioning. Then the app will be tried by participants to see if they find the technology easy to use and helpful. The goal is to determine if the technology that is available is beneficial in improving communication at home and social connections in the community.

Enhancing Access to Dental Care in Communities Through ADT

Anitha Peddireddy, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Dental Education

Access to dental care remains a significant challenge in many communities, leading to disparities in oral health outcomes.  Advanced Dental Therapists (ADT) address these disparities by expanding access to dental services. This abstract explores the concept of ADT and its potential to improve dental care accessibility and patient satisfaction in communities. ADT facilitates the delivery of dental services to underserved populations, including rural areas and low-income neighborhoods. Furthermore, it underscores the need for further research and investment in ADT to maximize its potential in enhancing access to dental care and improving oral health outcomes in diverse communities.

Fostering Social Connectedness and Belonging in Elementary School Students: A Local Collaborative's Strategic Initiative

Rachel Schickling, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Kelly Krumwiede, Professor, School of Nursing, Norma Krumwiede, Professor, School of Nursing and Sabrina Ehmke, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Background: Decreasing social connectedness in communities has become such a concern that the U.S. Surgeon General has labeled loneliness and isolation as an epidemic, and it is now considered a social determinant of health. Loneliness and Isolation have shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and even premature death in adults. Survey results from 2019 and 2022 in Minnesota show only 55 to 72 percent of students in grades five, eight, nine, and eleven feel cared for, valued, and appreciated. There is a more than five percent decrease between survey years for each grade, with each grade level ranking lower than the previous. The Madelia Community Based Collaborative (MCBC) is an interdisciplinary workgroup in rural-Minnesota that was formed in 2012 to improve social determinants of health and promote healthy behaviors in the community using the five pillars of health. A partnership between MCBC, a community hospital, elementary schools, and university prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students allow the collaborative to implement strategies to improve elementary school age children’s ability to develop cognitively, physically, and socially.   
 
Purpose: The purpose of this interdisciplinary community-based intervention in a rural elementary school was to raise awareness of the positive impacts fostering strong social connections at different system levels has on physical and psychosocial health. Diverse classes of third and fourth grade students gathered to read and reflect on a book with nursing students titled Circles All Around Us, and they discussed what social connections look like in their lives. Students then created a poster illustrating what social connectedness means to them. Prevalent themes in the posters identified friends, family, pets, materialistic items, and the world as important social connectors.   
 
Conclusions: Fostering successful interpersonal connections has reached a crisis level in Minnesota and schools have a unique opportunity to guide students and families to form connections, supports, and inclusive environments that promote mental health and well-being. Learning through creative imagination and art may be a valuable method to encourage changed behavior in elementary school students.   
 
Recommendations: Continual interdisciplinary partnerships are needed to provide educational opportunities and resources to children and adolescents to foster community connections, support, and increase a sense of belonging. Children who feel connected and establish a strong sense of belonging in all social circles at a young age are more likely to develop into teens and adults with strong support networks.

Camp Maverick's Impact on Literacy Growth and Self-Confidence

Vanessa Dahlgren, Kaitlyn Sizer, Megan Surprenant, Alison Brunmeier
MSU Student Researchers

Camp Maverick: Rec N’ Read is a ten-week, full-time summer camp that provides literacy and recreation intervention for children struggling to read and write. Research suggests that children who struggle to learn to read and write, frequently report having lower self-worth and academic concept of self (Cortiella et. al., 2014). Therefore, an effective literacy intervention program must encompass both literacy skill development and address self-confidence and engagement around reading and writing. Data was collected with 15 participants pre/post Camp Maverick and in December following the summer of Camp attendance.  These participants included campers who attended varying number of weeks (from 1-2 weeks to 9-10 weeks). Data sources include the Gray Oral Reading Test – 5th Edition, Qualitative Reading Inventory, Words Their Way spelling inventory, a writing sample, and a parent and child interview.  Mixed methods data analysis was used to determine if there was a substantial change in literacy skills and how children and parents felt about reading and writing improvement, engagement and self-confidence. Preliminary results indicate that children who attended Camp for more weeks tended to feel more confident in their reading and writing skills and demonstrated growth in literacy skills beyond what would be expected for normal development. Parents indicated that their children appeared more confident post camp.

Moving Our Thinking and Action Upstream to Promote Community Health and Wellbeing

Emily Rohlik, LADC, MSW Student 
Nancy M. Fitzsimons, PhD, MSW, LISW

The poster presents a model for promoting the health and well-being of a community. The model emerged out of a partnership between the Greater Mankato Area United Way and Dr. Nancy Fitzsimons, Professor of Social Work at Minnesota State University, Mankato to engage our community in moving our thinking and action upstream. The community education and engagement work is centered on the River Story, also knows as the Upstream-Downstream Parable. The model demonstrates how the structural-social determinants of health are experienced at the individual and family level. Downstream conditions are impacted positively or negatively by midstream and upstream conditions.

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