Alpha Nu Chapter honored for service project at national honor society meeting

Villanova, PA, October 20, 2008 — Students and faculty in the Alpha Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) were proud to be honored with a certificate of excellence at the Second Biennial Showcase of Regional Excellence for Region 12 at the STTI Leadership Academy held in Indianapolis, IN September 25-27, 2008.The recognition was presented because of Alpha Nu’s service project “Partnering with Habitat for Humanity to Increase Family Health Knowledge.” Alpha Nu is based at Villanova University College of Nursing.

Villanova nursing students Christine Matula,
Colleen Avery and Christin Guest review health
promotion handouts they prepared for Habitat for
Humanity families participating in a 2008 health
information session.

A partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County, Pa. and members of Alpha Nu Chapter was launched in October 2007.  Female heads of households who are building homes for their families received information about health promotion and health care access from newly inducted STTI members. The students included Christin Guest who developed one program and presented at both the October and May 2008 sessions.  Both Jennifer Janiello and Eileen Condon developed one program each and delivered the May session.  All of these students are now College alumni of the Class of 2008 who are in clinical practice. Christine Matula and Colleen Avery are currently seniors at Villanova who participated in two of the programs and will be inducted into Alpha Nu in November 2008. The students were mentored in the process by Mary Pickett, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor at the College and a past president of Alpha Nu.

Villanova University supports a mission and philosophy of service and there is a large corps of student volunteers who are involved with the activities of Habitat for Humanity (HFH). A group of undergraduate students, recently inducted into STTI, who had volunteered in the post-Hurricaine Katrina clean-up and building activities were interested in providing service for members of the HFH community. The congruence of ideals for both STTI and HFH is clearly identifiable. The HFH website has posted information about the positive relationship between improved health and housing. It clearly identifies the association of substandard housing with negative health effects in the following ways: "Poor housing contirbutes to the incidence of childhood asthma, viral and bacterial infections, anemia, stunted growth, mental illness or behavioral problems, and childhood mortality related to house fires attributed to faulty electical heating and wiring." Safe housing positively influences family life in the following ways: "Families can provide stability for their children; a family's sense of dignity and pride grow; health, physical safety and security improve; and educational and job prospects increase."

Dr. Pickett contacted Habitat for Humanity Montgomery County, located in Norristown PA, to explore possibilities for offering health-related programs to families who were participating in the "HFH Cornestone Program" that focuses on home maintenance and finance information related to home ownership. Alpha Nu members provided information about health promotion and health care access to families building homes during two informational sessions held in October 2007 and May 2008. A total of eleven families attended the programs and were comprised of women, heads of households, and their children. This program was directed to the information needs of the families and was developed using available data about the family members (age and gender). Health information presented in the program was obtained from current health care literature. An experienced community health nurse, who is an Alpha Nu officer, provided guidance and support to the students who disseminated health promotion knowledge to HFH community members. Booklets that contained health related information were prepared for each family. Topics included healthy lifestyle information (DASH diet and ways to increase physical activity), prevention of illness through available child and adult immunizations, and information about local primary health care. Presentations by the new members of Alpha Nu were well received by the family participants. At the October 30th program, Alpha Nu members provided a seasonal Halloween theme, Jack O Lantern containers were filled with healthy whole grain snacks, fruit, and 'easy-to-prepare' recipe cards that emphasized incorporating fruits and vegetables into a healthy diet. Subsequently, the leadership of the HFH Montgomery Chapter has invited Alpha Nu members to present this program on a continuing basis as a component of the "Cornerstone Program" for families building homes.

The impact of this health information program specifically tailored for family members of the HFH Montgomery County resulted in increased knowledge related to priority health topics for growing families. Alpha Nu Chapter plans to sustain an ongoing relationship with HFH Mongomery County in the future. Partnering with HFH has given the members of Alpha Nu Chapter a new avenue to provide service to community members who are seeking to obtain stable homes for their families. The relationship between Alpha Nu and HFH Montgomery County provided multiple opportunities for new members of Alpha Nu Chapter to gain insights and support the linkage between knowledge and service designed to improve the health of the community.