Faculty from the University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences and State University of New York (SUNY) Plattsburgh are training a team of students to help new Americans and refugees with chronic health conditions access critical healthcare services.

UVM Exercise Science Program Director Susan Kasser, Ph.D., and Julie Richards, Ph.D., of SUNY Plattsburgh, an advisory board member for the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV), developed the Interprofessional Collaborative Health Access and Care Management Pilot Project to support immigrants and refugees facing barriers to the U.S. healthcare system.

“Without meaningful access to trusted and culturally appropriate information, these new community members face sociocultural, educational, and structural barriers with long-term impact on their health and well-being,” Kasser said.

Five students majoring in exercise science and physical therapy at UVM and five social work students from SUNY Plattsburgh will create and implement the culturally-responsive educational workshop.

The program’s goal is to prepare Congolese refugees in Vermont to access the healthcare system and maximize the care available to manage their conditions. Within the African diaspora in Vermont, the Congolese are a rapidly growing community that experiences elevated rates of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. The project will introduce the health professions students to the importance of interprofessional practice - a collaborative approach where healthcare providers work with each other - and promote understanding of the need for community building and cultural humility in healthcare practice.

The students will attend training in intercultural practice at the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) in Burlington on April 15 to prepare for the workshop, which is planned for May.

The Interprofessional Collaborative Health Access and Care Management Pilot Project is supported by the UVM College of Nursing and Health Science’s Dean’s Fund and the UVM Office of Community Engagement.