Bearinger Receives Adolescent Health Award

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

SOCIETY FOR ADOLESCENT MEDICINE HONORS DR. LINDA HOLM BEARINGER
University of Minnesota Professor is First Nurse to Receive Award

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (April 14, 2003) - University of Minnesota professor Linda Holm Bearinger, Ph.D., R.N, F.A.A.N., has received the prestigious 2004 Wyeth-Ayerst Visiting Professor in Adolescent Medicine Award from the Society for Adolescent Medicine (S.A.M).

The award recognizes Bearinger's national and international leadership in teaching in the field of adolescent health and in mentoring new colleagues. Bearinger is the first nurse to receive the award in its 18-year history. It provides financial support from Wyeth-Ayerst for Bearinger to educate a group of health care providers who would not otherwise be able to benefit from her expertise about adolescent health.

S.A.M. is a worldwide, multidisciplinary organization of health professionals involved in adolescent health and well-being. Bearinger has been an active member for over a decade, including a three-year appointment on the society's board of directors, only the second nurse to hold that position in the organization, in which 80 percent of members are physicians.

National, international lecturer and consultant

Bearinger has lectured nationally and internationally on a wide range of adolescent health topics, especially youth development, resilience among vulnerable youth and strategies for longitudinal community-based research.

Her work emphasizes the issues youth face in their families, schools, and communities. As principal investigator of research on vulnerable youth populations, she has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of NIMH, and National Institute of NICHD) for longitudinal studies on the long-term consequences of adolescent abortion, youths' sexual behaviors, pregnancy and STDs, adolescent substance use, and youth development with urban American Indians.

She consults with a number of national and state agencies. She is currently resource advisor to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, where she helps translate and disseminate research into the areas of policy, education and practice, and also to create and evaluate youth development initiatives in 16 nations.

Advocate for Nursing Perspectives

Bearinger has been a leader in introducing nursing perspectives into the field of adolescent research. Ten years ago she organized and launched S.A.M.'s first Nursing Research Forum, creating opportunities for nurses to collaborate on adolescent health research. She was the only nurse among 150 experts in adolescent health to participate in the 2001 Clinton White House Conference on Teenagers, which she had been invited to help organize. As a nurse-researcher she has brought in more than $15 million for training and research in adolescent health at the University of Minnesota.

"I have been a long-time advocate for expanding the diversity of disciplines and leadership within S.A.M., and am honored to be recognized in this way," she said. Bearinger holds appointments in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Medical School Department of Pediatrics, and School of Public Health. She teaches grant writing and public speaking, and how to translate research from all the health disciplines into practice, health promotion, and the development of vulnerable young people. She currently directs the MCHB-funded Center for Adolescent Nursing at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, offering master's and doctoral preparation in public health nursing with a focus on adolescents.

She holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota, a master's degree in public health from the University of Colorado-Denver, and a bachelor's degree in nursing from St. Olaf College, Northfield.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is the world's oldest continuing university-based school of nursing. A national leader in nursing research, it ranks 14th among eligible nursing schools in 2001 grants from the National Institutes of Health. Approximately 200 undergraduate and 300 graduate students are enrolled in the School's B.S.N., M.S. and Ph.D. programs.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota's seven health professional schools and colleges, including the School of Nursing, as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC mission is to prepare the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

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