Our Ohio Family Planning Insurance Marketing Campaign

Development of my group’s actual Problem Solving for Better Health (PSBH) project was perhaps one of the most challenging, insightful, and rewarding learning experiences of the semester. Prior to Capstone, I’ve had plenty of PSBH experiences but this Capstone project definitely tested and enforced the valuable concepts of the PSBH model that I have learned in previous coursework. Our first step was planning and assessing our community: Brooklyn, Ohio. During this time, I learned a lot about the health problems inflicting the communities as well as strengths and weaknesses present within the community. This portion of the project taught me important lessons about community partnerships and finding community resources in order to better solve community health problems. We met with CCBH staff and staff at the Old Brooklyn Family Service Center for guidance developing our project. After meeting, I was excited that we agreed to implement a marketing campaign for recent Ohio Medicaid family planning expansions. During my experience in the Title X clinic, I found that this was such an important community need. It is a critical program that many community residents are not aware of. By attempting to raise awareness for Ohio Medicaid, I realized that I would be playing an instrumental role in helping disadvantaged individuals gain health care access to critical family planning health services. It was great to witness how such a small project could have such a large potential impact on the community. I found research that supports that this program can provide more people with health access and thus contribute to a reduction in unintended pregnancies and STI rates.

            Our marketing campaign went well. We visited many, at least 300, different locations businesses in Brooklyn. We spoke with many Brooklyn residents and patients in the clinic. Alone we directly referred more than 2 dozen patients to Medicaid. This does not seem like a lot; however, like Medicaid family planning expansions, the Title X clinic is new. Thus, it has not established that large of a clientele when compared to other clinics. Additionally, we also went to local colleges near the community. Overall, I feel our marketing campaign was a success and made a valuable impact in the community.

My experience in a Title X Family Planning Clinic

This Capstone has been an excellent learning experience. I was stationed at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH). Specifically, my partners and I were mainly focused on the Title X family planning clinic at CCBH. Over the course of the semester, I learned so much about various health topics including Medicaid, family planning, the Title X program, and other health and socioeconomic issues relating to reproductive health and wellness. I learned about my targeted community and how to implement an actual problem solving for better health project. Before my first day at CCBH, I knew that I would be working primarily in a STD testing clinic. However, I was not expecting this experience and was not expecting to have the opportunity to work in one of the Ohio family planning clinic with Title X funding.

            Title X clinics, such as the one at CCBH, play a significant role in ensuring access to a broad range of family planning and related preventative health services for millions of low-income and uninsured individuals as well as others. These clinics have a different set of guidelines, protocols, and initiatives. For example, during the patient interviewing process CCBH staff are required to ask questions about general health topics in addition to sexual health ones. I did not expect this initially but it was not uncommon to find staff providing education on smoking cessation for a patient visiting the clinic to for a routine HIV screening. It was interesting becoming familiar with the various functions and responsibilities at a Title X clinic.

            Furthermore, the clinic serves a wide variety of patients. The patient population at the clinic was very interesting. According to the clinic’s priorities, I saw many low-income and uninsured individuals as well as those able to afford family planning services. I learned about the health care delivery system in terms of family planning services and how health disparities such as lack of insurance coverage can have major consequences for entire groups of people within a community. During my time at the clinic, I had a lot of opportunities to provide patient education. Each time, imparting critical knowledge to these patients became easier and easier for me. Finally, I learned about more extensive details and nursing implications for sexually transmitted infections, contraception, and general reproductive health issues.