Area Health Conference Reviews Hope Research

HOLLAND - Research at Hope College conducted by students under the supervision of Dr. Deborah Sturtevant of the social work faculty is the starting point for a conference concerning area health care that is being held at the college on Friday, Feb. 18.

The "Community Collaboration Conference," organized by the Holland Community Hospital Foundation, is geared toward identifying ways to improve the health and well-being of the community. The day-long event is based on research that Sturtevant and her Hope research students conducted during the summer of 2004.

Through the research project, the researchers organized several focus groups comprised of service providers and those who had received services, and asked questions relating to the participants' opinions of community health. The research, according to Sturtevant, indicated the need for preventative measures to promote good health, such as good nutrition, exercise, social connections, spirituality and appropriate medical care, and barriers including lack of time, money and transportation.

The students made a presentation concerning the results to the foundation's board in August. The February 18 conference will provide an opportunity for invited participants - including area health care professionals, directors of social service agencies and representatives of area school systems - to learn more about the findings and then to break into work groups to generate ideas to address the needs.

The conference, which will be held at the college's Haworth Inn and Conference Center, will feature the keynote address "Innovation: A Learning-Based Model for Community Change" by Reg Wagle, who is vice president of the Memorial Health Foundation in South Bend, Ind. Sturtevant, who is a professor of sociology and social work and chairperson of the department, will present an address focused on the research effort. The event will be guided by a facilitator, Dr. Curt Bechler, who is a member of the communication faculty at Aquinas College and a managing partner with Venture International.

Following the presentations, the participants will break into work groups organized around four general themes: provider-patient relationships, multicultural dimensions of health, healthcare access and resources, and informed and active consumers. The day will close with the groups reporting on their progress.

Sturtevant has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1988, and teaches courses in social welfare, social policy and macro practice. Her research interests include nonprofit board governance, political advocacy and capacity building. She is a member of the Holland Community Hospital Foundation's Board of Directors, and has served on the boards of other area agencies including Community Mental Health and United Way.

The students with whom she worked on the research project are Jenelle Dame, a senior from Holland; Audra Jobin, a junior from Spring Lake; and Jeffrey Seymour, a senior from Holland.

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