Development of a new graduate public health nurse residency program using the core competencies of public health nursing.

Background: Due to the continued shortage of public health nurses, some local public health agencies have begun hiring new graduate baccalaureate nurses into the public health nurse role. These new graduates require an increased level of support for transition to practice.

Aims: The goal of this project was creation of a transition to practice program designed specifically to meet the needs of new graduates hired in public health settings.

Local health department factors associated with performance in the successful implementation of community-based strategies: a mixed-methods approach.

Objectives: We examined which local health department (LHD)-level factors contributed to successful implementation of policy, systems, and environmental change strategies in Minnesota.

Methods: We used a retrospective mixed-methods design to evaluate the relationship between the Statewide Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) grant initiative and key predictor variables (2009-2011). We obtained quantitative capacity data for 91 cities and counties in Minnesota; in addition, we conducted 15 key informant interviews to examine factors that facilitated and acted as barriers to LHD performance.

Measuring the authority of local public health directors in the context of organizational structure: an exploratory, multimodal approach.

Context: Studies have reported a relationship between the organization of public health services and variability in public health practice at the local and state levels. A national research agenda has prioritized practice-based research to understand pathways that lead to this variation and examine the impact of these differences on outcomes.

Objectives: To measure the extent to which Minnesota local health directors report having key authorities and examine the relationship between organizational structure and authority of local health directors.

Baccalaureate nursing students' intention to choose a public health career.

Objective(s): To determine nursing students' public health career intentions, and to determine recruitment strategies and other factors that influence students' public health career intentions.

Design And Sample: Descriptive, correlational design. 354 junior and senior baccalaureate nursing students.

School-based influenza immunization.

Annual influenza vaccination of schoolchildren will protect individual vaccines and, with high coverage, may protect entire communities. Because schoolchildren are more difficult to reach than preschoolers, school-based immunization programs may be needed to reach a high percentage of children. We offered free live, attenuated influenza vaccine to all healthy schoolchildren (K-12) in three Minnesota counties.