Bethany A. Hall-Long, nursing, has received a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant to educate and develop the public health workforce, with a focus on nursing. The prestigious and highly competitive grant was awarded to only 10 faculty across the U.S.

Hall-Long, who holds a joint appointment in the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy, said she hopes the study will teach nursing students about public health issues and "help guide policymakers with important professional resource decisions."

The project–to design an innovative public health education program called "Partners in Action UD-DPH"–is a partnership between UD and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH).

Hall-Long is co-project director with Prue Allbright, DPH community health care access section and public health nursing.

The purpose of the project is two-fold: to improve the education of student nurses and to inform public health officials and staff as to how public health resources are distributed, Hall-Long said.

Once course materials have been compiled, web and CD-ROM-based learning modules will be designed for public health officials and staff to use to educate themselves about the public health issues documented in the nursing course.

The course and modules eventually could be used nationwide.

A preliminary report should be available in the summer of 2001.