Firearm Injury Prevention: An Interprofessional Challenege

ELLA KENNEY

To research firearm injury in the state of Vermont and propose targeted interventions for at risk populations.

This project is a continuation of the internship I did in the summer of 2023. The first section explains the organiziation the project stemmed from. But, since the formal internship has ended I have continued my work with Dr. Tom Delaney.

AHEC UVM

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine's Area Health Education Centers Program, which I will refer to as AHEC UVM, mission is to "increase access to primary and preventive health services in Vermont through health workforce development by providing programs and services that promote an adequate supply and distribution of a trained and diverse health workforce" (1).

AHEC UVM is part of a larger network of 3 AHEC centers across Vermont (collectively known as VT AHEC) that work in cooperation with various academic and community partners to acheive their mission. Other AHEC offices include Northern VT AHEC and Southern VT AHEC. The organization was brought to Vermont and founded in 1996 (1). It is funded by federal, state, and local grants and donations.

In the 2020-2021 calendar year, VT AHEC provided continuing education to 2,792 health professionals and connected with over 800 highschool and undergraduate students (2). With partnerships, they work to provide education to Vermonters ranging from middle school students to practicing health professionals. Some of their work includes health exploration and preporation programs for youth, workforce recuritment and retention initiatives, and mentoring/community-based programs (2).

*references listed at bottom of page

AHEC Summer Scholar's Program

Every summer, VT AHEC hosts a variety of internships and projects for Larner College of Medicine students and other health profession-related students. This year there were 7 different projects-- I was placed on the project relating to firearm injury prevention.

The mission of their scholar's summer program is as follows:

For students to gain a valuable understanding about the social and cultural factors that influence an individual's overall health and their ability to access care.

About my specific project:

I participated in the project titled "Interprofessional Challenge Project: Prevention of Firearm Injury." The goal of the project was to research firearm injury and and suggest targetted interventions for at risk populations across Vermont. We had the speceific goal of creating an educational pamphlet for distribution in primary care offices in Vermont.

The official start date of this project was June 19th. I worked with 3 other interprofessional students-- two rising second year medical students and a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling. Our direct supervisor was Dr. Mary Val Palumbo, who specializes in interprofessional education, the nursing workforce, and Alzheimer's disease. She is an extremely accomplished professor at UVM, while also directing AHEC's nursing workforce (3). Together, we integrated our varying backgrounds in education to work towards finding an effective targeted intervention.

My role in the project:

I served as a researcher, collaborator, and student who learned about firearm injury and prevention, the basics to research design, and about effective strategies on the implementation of targeted interventions (4). I was responsible for reaching out to various healthcare providers throughout the state, stakeholders, and other key players. I facilitated meetings and explored new avenues to research that our team had not previously thought about.

FALL 2023

Now (FALL 2023), I am continuing the research I did over the summer. I will be, and have, spent my time looking into previously published literature relating to firearm injury and prevention strategies. From there, I will meet use this research to meet with stakeholders to explore ways in which effective interventions can be suggested. The focus of these intervention strategies relate to primary care physicians.

One reason I chose to continue this research was because there were areas in which the summer project felt rushed and I think that having a more in-depth examination and reserach analysis would be beneficial. I hope to improve and expand-upon our current work.

During this work, I will be working with Dr. Tom Delaney. He has interests in suicide and firearm injury prevention. Dr. Additionally, he has worked with other individuals in this field to create e- modules and has developed expertise on firearm injury prevention. Dr. Delaney is an Associate Professor at the LCOM Deparmtnet of Pedeiatrics and teaches in the Public Health Program.

About Me (Ella Kenney):

Hi! My name is Ella and I am a third-year at the University of Vermont. I was born in China, but at a young age (<1) I was adopted and have lived in Williston, Vermont for my entire life. Some activities I enjoy are baking, hiking, listening to music, learning new things, and photography. Just to change things up, I will add a few things I dislike as well: potatos (in any form), animals with more than 4 legs, and watching movies.

At UVM, I am aiming to graduate with a major in public health sciences and a minor in Spanish. I have always taken an interest to biology and chemistry and I consider myself a "people person"-- all of which made health sciences a fitting major for me. I would describe myself as conversationally fluent in Spanish.

Gun violence and firearm injury prevention are topics of extreme importance and I am really looking forward to joining the many efforts in addressing this dire issue. I hope to learn more about the research project while inspiring myself and others to take action.

References:

Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program. AHEC, Larner College of Medicine at The University of Vermont. (n.d.). http://www.med.uvm.edu/ahec/opc-ahec/overview
VT AHEC. (2022). UVM Office of Primary Care and the Vermont TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE The overarching aim of VT AHEC is to provide statewide health workforce development programs that support an appropriate, current and future, health workforce so that all Vermonters have access to health care. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program.
University of Vermont. (n.d.). Mary Val Palumbo, D.N.P., Aprn. https://www.uvm.edu/cnhs/nursing/profiles/mary_val_palumbo_dnp_aprn
University of Vermont. (n.d.). Internships and Projects. Student Projects, AHEC, Larner College of Medicine. https://www.med.uvm.edu/ahec/forms/student-projects

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