President’s Fund for Population Health NEW

Children and youth experiencing homelessness can face chronic disease, trauma, behavioral health challenges and educational disruptions that can lead to developmental delays. Families need resources and education to help break the cycle of homelessness. Building on insights gained and early work implemented during the first year of the grant, this project is designed to address challenges faced by children and families experiencing homelessness and poverty at the Stephen Center in South Omaha. By developing processes and programming that meet the needs of parents, case managers and youth, the project aims to build trust and strengthen support among families and staff, helping ensure that appropriate resources are available to promote healthy youth development. 

Faculty leads: Kylie Widhelm, OTD, assistant professor of occupational therapy, and Tara Eickhoff, PharmD, assistant clinical professor of pharmacy, both in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions 

This project aims to develop, implement and evaluate the impact of a trauma-informed mentoring program at Youth Emergency Services (YES) in Omaha, serving youth experiencing homelessness and youth who are survivors of sex trafficking. Recognizing the well-documented importance of supportive adult relationships in fostering resilience and preventing exploitation, the program seeks to address the critical need for mentorship and connection with a trusted adult identified by youth at YES.

The program will be developed and implemented through collaboration with researchers from Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and YES staff, ensuring a youth-centered, evidence-based approach. Key objectives include recruiting and training mentors, designing tools for effective mentor-mentee matching and evaluating the program’s impact using pre- and post-surveys to assess trust, self-worth, self-harming behaviors, education and employment, future goals, self-perceived agency, and social support. The evaluation will include both qualitative and quantitative data to comprehensively assess the outcomes.

Faculty lead: Sarbinaz Bekmuratova, PhD, associate professor of occupational therapy, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions

Refugees in the U.S. face significant barriers to healthcare access, health education and chronic disease prevention, influenced by structural and systemic inequities (Rashoka et al., 2022). While refugees often arrive in better overall health than their American-born counterparts—a phenomenon known as the “healthy immigrant effect”—their health frequently declines over time due to unmet needs (Elshahat et al., 2021; Lane et al., 2018; Newbold, 2005; Su et al., 2019). Nebraska, ranked among the top 10 states for refugee resettlement per capita (DHHS, 2016; Gonzalez, 2023; Radford & Connor, 2016), has a refugee population particularly vulnerable to chronic disease, a vulnerability further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Tippens & Spring, 2021).

This project aims to address health disparities and promote equity by designing and implementing educational interventions for refugee communities in Nebraska. These interventions will focus on nutrition education, interpreting food labels, improving health literacy and incorporating physical activity into daily routines using wearable technology over a two-year period.

Guided by Ignatian values and informed by previous work (Rashoka, 2018–2024)—including qualitative interviews with 16 healthcare providers across Nebraska (Rashoka, 2024) and a needs assessment informed by a community advisory board—this research will target refugees receiving services from clinical sites such as CUMC, Heart Ministry and local resettlement centers. The project will also engage both graduate and undergraduate nursing students, as well as family medicine residents from Creighton University.

Faculty lead: Falah Rashoka, PhD, assistant professor, College of Nursing

Maricopa County is experiencing increasing numbers of unhoused and underserved populations, who face numerous barriers to safe housing, food security and access to medical care. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP), a close partner of the Creighton University School of Medicine, is a leader in providing services to these marginalized communities in Maricopa County through a four-pillar approach: (1) feeding the hungry; (2) clothing the vulnerable with dignity and love; (3) housing the unsheltered; and (4) providing medical and dental care.

This IPH project will expand the collaboration between CUSOM and SVdP and conduct an in-depth needs assessment of the populations who utilize the resources at SVdP. Doing so will allow us to better understand the challenges and barriers facing these communities.