Nursing School Receives $2.6 Million CDC Grant

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

U OF M SCHOOL OF NURSING RECEIVES $2.6 MILLION FROM CDC
Grant Will Prepare Researchers to Study Adolescent Health

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Oct. 14, 2004) -- Adolescents have numerous health-related issues and problems, but they often remain unmet. University of Minnesota School of Nursing faculty hope to change that with the help of a $2.58 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the only school of nursing to receive one of these CDC grants under a new Health Protection Research Initiative.

The grant funds the establishment of the Adolescent Health Protection Research Training Program, which will prepare scientists to conduct much needed research on ways to protect the health of young people. It will support pre- and post-doctoral fellowships in nursing, nutrition, and medicine for up to three years. Faculty from the university's schools of nursing, medicine, and public health will be involved in teaching and working with these new scientists on their research.

One nursing scientist in the new program will be listening to the concerns of newly immigrated Latin youth to consider the challenges they face in seeking health care. Another is using her clinical expertise with teens who have mental health problems to study ways in which their families, schools, and communities, as well as health professionals, can best protect and support these young people on healthier pathways toward adulthood.

"Since adolescents change in so many ways, we need to draw on the expertise of a variety of disciplines to figure out how to meet their needs," said Linda Bearinger, Ph.D., RN, F.A.A.N, lead investigator for this new CDC grant, professor of nursing, and director of the Center for Adolescent Nursing. "This grant will allow us to work together to find new ways to help young people get and stay healthy."

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is ranked among the nation's top nursing schools. It is a leader in nursing research and has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 800 students. The school produces 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota's public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses and nurses who can assume leadership positions. The world's oldest continuing university-based school of nursing, it is one of six schools and colleges comprising the Academic Health Center, one of the most comprehensive facilities for health professionals in the nation, fostering interdisciplinary study and research.

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