Adebayo Ibikunle, BDS, MPH, from the School of Dentistry, and Sara Busche, BS, from the Medical School, have been working with the Mobile Health Initiative to create evidence-based resource guides related to stress and anxiety self-management practices to share with providers to use with patients attending mobile health events. The Mobile Health Initiative offers support to health care services to improve health outcomes for underserved communities in the Twin Cities metro area.
The team has developed several mental health resources, including individual strategies to manage stress and anxiety and to connect community members with mental health services. The team is currently working on deploying resources and measuring outcomes to fit the needs of the populations they are working with. Through their work, the team has increased their understanding of the importance of culturally-responsive care, the impact of stigma surrounding public health interventions, and the importance of interprofessional collaboration in health care.
Busche shares, “We have learned how inaccessible existing mental health resources are, especially for communities in Minnesota whose first language is not English, which has increased our desire to make these resources more accessible.”
After working on the OACA Interprofessional Internship, the team is dedicated to promoting interprofessional partnerships in health care whenever possible due to the unique perspective that each discipline brings to the table.
“I have always found working in and with the community to achieve health care goals particularly satisfying. This was no exception, as one of my favorite experiences during this project was working collaboratively in an interprofessional environment,” said Ibikunle.