Lydia DeSantis, PhD, MPH, RN and Rosemary F. Hall, PhD, RN. School of Nursing, University of Miami, 5801 Red Road, Coral Gables, FL 33124, 305-284-3784, ldesantis@miami.edu

Rapid Assessment Procedures (RAPS) gained prominence the 1950s and 1960s in applied anthropology and economic development projects as a set of data collection methods to quickly assess the needs of a population in relation to a specific problem. In population-based health programs, RAPS involves data collection by collaborative teams of health care providers, community members, and social scientists to assess community-level perspectives on health disparities, determine the sociocultural context of community health needs, and formulate culturally appropriate interventions. Public health nurses have long been recognized for their expertise in developing community partnerships and incorporating the cultural dimension into health programs, but few are prepared in RAPS methods, severely hampering their participation in, contribution to, and leadership of RAPS teams. To better prepare nurses for community-based programs, the concept and methodology of RAPS has been integrated throughout the curricular content of a unique master’s level program to prepare population-based community health nurses. Students receive an entire course on RAPS and use them to capture the cultural context surrounding health issues and to engage communities in problem identification and program development. RAPS have also been introduced at the undergraduate level to improve students’ observational skills and ability to ascertain the effects of the cultural dimension on community responses to health needs. Emphasized throughout the presentation are exemplars of how RAPS may be integrated into undergraduate and graduate curriculums to develop culturally competent population-based nurses.

Learning Objectives: