1

Student Documentation of Community Strengths Using Omaha System Concepts: An International

Public Health Nursing Feasibility Study

Madeleine J. Kerr, PhD1 & Kari Glavin, PhD2

1 University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Minneapolis, USA 2 Diakonova University College, Oslo, Norway

Collaborators Mexico, Benemérita Universidad Autonoma

Sebastiana del Rosario Gargantua-Aguila & Erika Mitre

New Zealand, University of Auckland Michelle Honey

Norway, Diakonova University College Kari Glavin

Turkey, Istanbul University Nursen O. Nahcivan & Selda Secginli

United States, University of Minnesota Carol Flaten, Karen Monsen & Madeleine Kerr

Omaha System Partnership within the School of Nursing's Center for Nursing Informatics

Background •  Strength-based community

assessments are a hallmark of public health nursing.

•  Brief community assessment “windshield surveys” are often completed by nursing students in public health experiences.

The Omaha System Standardized terminology with a

community-level modifier

The Omaha System

Useful in describing community-level problems

Kerr et al., (2016). Feasibility of Using the Omaha System for Community‐level Observations. Public Health Nursing, 33(3), 256-263.

Is it also suitable to capture community strengths?

Method •  Engaged faculty through the internet •  One link to all resources in the ‘cloud’ •  Online survey using SurveyMonkey

•  Checklist of 11 concepts •  Open-ended item to comment on strengths

•  University ethics committee determined the study “exempt” from review.

•  Analysis of themes by PHN faculty collaborators in each country –  Eliminated comments that simply stated

an absence of the problem/ sign/symptom.

–  Grouped comments and named themes. •  Themes were synthesized across

countries to identify common strengths •  All collaborators validated the results.

Results Students from 5 countries provided data

Country Number of Students

Mexico 23

New Zealand 12

Norway 35

Turkey 100

USA 128

TOTAL 284

Frequency of Strengths

The percent of respondents adding a strength varied among the 5 countries.

Residence (living area) concept Sign/symptom/strength

Mexico NZ Norway Turkey US

Structurally unsound 30 0 6 72 32 Homeless

0 8 6 4 18 Strength (comment) 70 92 100 34 70

Themes Environmental Domain

Omaha System Concept

Theme

Income Good Economic Situation Sanitation Cleanliness

Quality Water Residence Variety in Housing Options

Quality Housing Neighborhood/ Workplace Safety

Safe Neighborhood

Open/Green Space

Residence Definition: Living area

Quality Housing • “[The housing provides] safety and

comfort” Mexico • “For the most [part] big solid houses”

Norway • “The houses seem good and

structurally sound” Turkey • “Relatively newly-built homes in good

repair” United States

Psychosocial Domain Omaha System Concept

Themes

Communication with Community Resources

Community Resources Available

Communication of Resources Social Contact Good Opportunities for Social

Interaction Interpersonal Relationship

Stable Community

Sociable Community

Spirituality Availability of Diverse Places of Worship Beliefs respected

Social contact Definition: Interaction between the individual/family/community and others

Good opportunities for social interaction

“There are soccer (football) matches among neighborhoods” Mexico

“Sports clubs and facilities available, social clubs in schools such as sports/art/drama clubs, scouts, walking groups, exercise groups, street meetings and groups” New Zealand

“Well-functioning neighborhoods, much social interaction and leisure activities” Norway

Health-related Behaviors Domain

Omaha System Concept

Themes

Nutrition Access to Appropriate Nutrition Substance Use Prevention Policies Health Care Supervision

Good Access to Health Care Providers

Nutrition Definition: Select, consume, and use food and fluids for energy, maintenance, growth and health.

Access to appropriate nutrition “Lots of options for healthy eating” New Zealand “Good access and opportunities to have a

balanced diet” Norway “It is easy to access all kinds of foods (from both

market greengrocer and farmers market)” Turkey

“Large quantity of grocery stores in the area” United States

Conclusions • Students were able to describe

community strengths using Omaha System standardized terminology concepts.

• Common strength themes in each of 11 Omaha System concepts were derived from student-generated narrative data.

Implications Themes and exemplar quotes provide a first step to development of operational definitions of strengths at a more granular level for future electronic exchange of community-level information across the globe.

Questions? kerrx010@umn.edu

References Kerr, M.J., Flaten, C., Honey, M.L.L., Gargantua-

Aguila, R., Nahcivan, N.O., Martin, K.S., & Monsen, K.A. (2016). Feasibility of Using the Omaha System for Community‐level Observations. Public Health Nursing, 33(3), 256-263.

Martin, K. S. (2005). The Omaha System: A Key to Practice, Documentation, and Information Management (Reprinted 2nd edition ed.). Omaha, NE: Health Connections Press.