The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND), located in the University of Wyoming's College of Health Sciences, awarded two grants to research projects focusing on the health and well-being of Wyoming residents.
The Equality State Research Network (ESRN) -- a project of WIND -- presented the grants to Campbell County's Edible Prairie Project and to Michelle Blakely, a UW assistant professor of pharmacy, for their community-based participatory research projects.
The Edible Prairie Project, a nonprofit, community-based organization, supports small- and mid-scale agricultural and food processing operations in local communities to improve the affordability and accessibility to high-quality and nutritionally appropriate food for community members. The organization supports independent, family-scale agriculture through education, food production and distribution.
The project increases food security and fruit and vegetable consumption through the Edible Prairie Veggie Basket program, connecting local farmers and ranchers to Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.
Find more information about the Edible Prairie Project at www.edibleprairieproject.org/.
Blakely is the principal investigator for a research project that identifies barriers and increases the use of assistive technology in health care interactions between deaf/hard-of-hearing patients and Wyoming pharmacists. Goals include improving medication adherence; health-related outcomes; and patient quality of life.
About ESRN
The ESRN is a community- and practice-based research network that brings together Wyoming stakeholders to conduct health care research. This process includes identifying pressing community health needs; developing ways to research these issues; and collecting the data from the communities.
Stakeholders can be medical professionals, administrators or others in the health care industry. At least 50 percent of the members are patients, family members and other community members who help to address local needs and concerns.
