CONHS Faculty Members and Students Give 7 Presentations at Transcultural Nursing Society Conference
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A group of invited faculty and student presenters representing the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi made a lasting impression at the 44th Annual Transcultural Nursing Society Conference, which was held Oct. 18-20 in San Antonio. The conference drew over 300 national and international participants. Speakers were nationally known experts in transcultural health care and named scholars in the field.
The CONHS group, which gave a total of seven presentations, included nine faculty members, two Doctor of Nursing Practice Program graduates and four honor undergraduate students, according to Dr. Mary Jane Hamilton RN. Two of the presentations were podium presentations and the remaining five presented posters.
Drs. Hamilton and Saladiner presented their Community/Military/Academic Partnership occurring June 18-July 1, 2017, in the Colonias along the Texas border. The Academic practice partnership with the 5th Army Reservists and Texas A&M system and the College of Nursing & Health Sciences, was delivered in four community health centers providing primary care, dental care, and ophthalmology services (including two pairs of glasses) to over 8,000 individuals, with 12,500 services and at a savings of over
$3 million to the community. Students worked in an interdisciplinary environment along with military reservists to deliver culturally sensitive health care and connect the residents with a federally qualified health clinic in the area. Many social determinants of care barriers were identified, such as transportation, need for language translation and access to health care, with innovative solutions proposed.
In addition to Hamilton & Saladiner, presenters included Dr. Theresa Garcia, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Denise de La Rosa, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Meng Zhao, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Eva Bell, assistant professor of nursing; Leigh Shaver, clinical assistant professor; and Dr. Kyoung Eun (Kelly) Lee, assistant professor of nursing. Two May graduates from A&M-Corpus Christi’s CONHS’s first Doctor of Nursing Practice Program—Drs.Olubank Babalola and Ashley Hughes—also served as presenters. Dr. Sara Baldwin, who serves as a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Honors student mentor, is also a reviewer for the Journal of Transcultural Nursing. The group also included four University Honors students—Katarina Euresti, Peyton Gravley, Grace Kimball and Kaitlyn Rather.
The seven presentations were:
- “Latino Grandparent Opportunity to Impact Child Obesity - The Healthy Us Grandparent Study” (HUGS): Theresa J. Garcia, Ph.D., RN; Denise De La Rosa, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, Sara Baldwin RN, Ph.D., study co-investigator
- “Social Determinants of Health in South Texas Colonias: A Joint Effort between Military Reservists to Bridge Healthcare Needs in an Underserved Minority Population”: Mary Jane Hamilton Ph.D., RN; Jason E. Saladiner Ed.D
- “Preventing Heart Failure in a Culturally Diverse Population”: Ashley K. Hughes, DNP, APRN, FNP-C
- “Improving Diabetes Self-Care Education Processes for Hispanic Elderly Using a Culturally-Competent, Age-Specific Approach”: Olubanke M. Babalola, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, RRT
- “Mental Illness among Asian Americans: An Integrative Review”: Eva M. Bell, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, PMHNP, CNS; Meng Zhao Ph.D., RN
- “Exploration of Transcultural Nursing with Baccalaureate Honors Students Using Evidence-based Strategies to Promote Culturally Tailored Care”: Leigh Shaver, RN, MSN, A&M University –Corpus Christi ; Peyton Gravley, SN, TAMUCC; Katarina Euresti, SN, TAMUCC; Kaitlyn Rather, SN, TAMUCC; Grace Kimball, SN, TAMUCC
- Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus and its Vaccine Among Nursing Students in Cambodia: Kyoung Eun (Kelly) Lee, Ph.D., MSN, RN, WHCNP
The presentations reflected a variety of research efforts across South Texas and beyond. For example, Drs. Hamilton and Saladiner were on the Transcultural Nursing Community and Mental Health panel to discuss social determinants of health care and its application to Innovative Readiness Training missions in South Texas colonias, which are unincorporated settlements that typically lack basic municipal services.
Drs. Garcia, De La Rosa, and Baldwin presented the results of an exploratory research study the pair conducted on the influence of grandparents on the health behaviors of Latino children in South Texas. Most of the existing literature on the topic reports that grandparents have a negative or detrimental influence on healthy behaviors, Garcia says, adding their study found the opposite to be true. “Our findings support the provision of healthy behavior education to grandparents may improve the healthy behaviors of Latino families, capitalizing on Latino cultural beliefs of ‘familismo,’ which is a cultural concept that refers to strong extended family ties and putting family above self,” she said.
Separately, Babalola presented findings based on a study at a large community clinic in Texas that support the conclusion that culturally competent, age-specific diabetes education can positively impact knowledge, self-management behaviors and glycemic values in older Hispanic residents with Type 2 diabetes.
For her part, Shaver attended the conference with CONHS undergraduate students Euresti, Gravley, Kimball and Rather, all of whom are in the University Honors program. “We presented a poster that we developed together on their experience last spring with a course contract in the Nurse as Communicator course, which is a class in the first semester of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree plan,” Shaver said. “The students will present on their experience attending an international nursing conference at the Honors Symposium in December.”
“We gained substantial attention for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and all of the presentations were well-received,” Hamilton said. “All were encouraged to submit articles to the Journal of Transcultural Nursing for consideration of publication. I think it’s very impressive to have this many of our faculty, alumni and current students presenting.”. It emphasizes the cultural diversity of the South Texas Community and the importance of culturally appropriate health care.”
