Assessing Emotional Well-Being: Applying Health Promotion Methods Through Community Service

This is a poster presentation describing a creative activity engaging advanced health promotion strategies through community service. Bridges Health is a free student-led, faculty-guided clinic that offers a variety of health services. One location is in rural Blair, Wisconsin where 12 to 16 patients are seen each day and receive a variety of services, including health screening and assessment, foot and nail care, massage, vision checks, ear wash, and vital monitoring. The Bridges Health-Blair site is located within a church that the rural community utilizes for a wide variety of community events. The town has an estimated population of 1,305 citizens, according to the U.S. Census (2020). An intake form is completed with each client and a trend found within this population is that many of the clients score 3 or higher within the mental health section. This subsequently initiates the completion of a PHQ-9 screening, which also trends high. The goal at the Bridges Health-Blair site is to provide excellent and compassionate care within the team's scope of practice and promote psycho-social health and wellness to those in the community. This includes engaging the client in discussions in the 8 dimensions of wellness. The older adult population has complex perceptions toward depression and treatments, with self-management being a main theme (Nair, et al., 2019). This creative health promotion strategy consists of the transition from the PHQ-9 screening tool to the GDS-15 screening tool at the Bridges Health-Blair site. While the PHQ-9 is a standard screening tool and widely utilized, it may not be the best for older adults as they may score higher due to co-existing health issues that impact their appetite and sleeping patterns. Health issues or normal aging changes may interfere with accurate screening of depression. The GDS-15 questions only require a "yes" or "no" answer, unlike the PHQ-9. This may be more understandable for older adults, especially those with decreased cognition. The questions focus on emotional ...