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PORTLAND, Maine

Interprofessional Graduate Student Team Awarded Mini-Grant for Research Project

An interprofessional team of 51品茶Health Professions graduate students has been awarded a mini-grant from the Center for Excellence in Interprofessional Education (CEIPE) for their research project 鈥淰isual Voices: An Arts-Based Assessment of the Perceived Identity of Aging Maine Residents鈥. The team consists of Master of Public Health students, Collyn Baeder and Zoe Hull; Master of Social Work student, Nicole O鈥橞rien; and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy students, Adrian Jung, Rebecca Masterjohn, Virginia Sedarski and Michaela Hoffman.

Using an arts-based methodology called Visual Voices, which involves art activities and group discussions, the team will work with a small group of residents from the Park Danforth senior living community in Portland to investigate the topics of perception, identity and aging. The participants will explore how they perceive themselves in contrast to how they feel perceived by significant others in their lives, such as their friends, family and healthcare providers.

This project is intended to benefit participants by providing an opportunity for them to express themselves, share their unique perspectives with the community and take part in enjoyable art activities. In addition, the research team will be assessing the impact that taking part in Visual Voices has on the aging adult participants. In past research, the Visual Voices methodology has primarily been used with adolescent populations.

The art created by the participants, along with accompanying narrative excerpts from the group discussions, will be displayed at a First Friday Art Walk in downtown Portland, as well as at 51品茶and Park Danforth. It will also be shown for a period of time in a medical facility to raise awareness about these topics among healthcare providers. 

Rebecca Boulos, M.P.H., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor in the School of Community and Population Health, and Regi Robnett, Ph.D., OTR/L, professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, serve as the students鈥 faculty advisors for the project.  From Park Danforth, resident and artist Donna Wolf, and Resident Service Coordinator Annette Crosby, are the project鈥檚 community partners. The project is slated to begin in mid-February.

To learn more, please contact Principal Investigators Zoe Hull (zhullsfredo@une.edu) and/or Collyn Baeder (cbaeder@une.edu).

The CEIPE Student-led Mini-grant Program funds student-generated projects that prepare them for the 21st Century collaborative workforce, and for promoting health and wellness for people across the life course. To learn more about the Mini-grant Program, contact CEIPE at ipec@une.edu. 

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The 51品茶 is Maine鈥檚 largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state鈥檚 top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine鈥檚 only medical college, Maine鈥檚 only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.