Skip to main content

Faculty Complete a Second Offering of the Heart of Horsemanship Program for Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD)

Image
By

Wranglers and Horses Help Veterans Heal

Many veterans face problems associated with transitioning from military to civilian life. There is a need for more integrative health approaches that treat the psychosocial and embodied aspects of combat veterans “re-booting” into civilian life. One approach includes horsemanship training to help veterans better empower themselves both physically and mentally.  This approach was developed into the Heart of Horsemanship (HOH), an eight-week horsemanship program with combat veterans living in a residential treatment facility.  The hope is that the program could improve quality of life indicators and the stress response of participants. The program is the focus of SHHS faculty member Dr. Ellen Kaye Gehrke's current research and community outreach featured before in the school's blog.

Dr. Kaye Gehrke was joined this fall by fellow SHHS faculty members Peggy Ranke and Michael Myers and College of Letters and Sciences (COLS) faculty member Jessica Jimenez to wrap up work running and analyzing the effectiveness of a second offering of the Heart of Horsemanship (HOH) program.  The eight week program worked with veterans from Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) and was run at the Rolling Horse Ranch in Ramona, California.  

The first run of the HOH program was a great success and was featured in the Ramona Sentinel. That program and part of the second were presented in November at the 143rd APHA Annual Meeting and at the annual meeting of the AIHM.  That work also involved faculty member Suzanne Evans from the Sanford College of Education (SCOE). The work reached across the community, the school (Dr. Myers and Dr. Kaye Gehrke are in the department of health sciences while Instructor Ranke is in the community health department) and the University (Dr. Jimenez is in the psychology department in COLS and Dr. Evans is in the SCOE ).   

The inter-professional team found a significant increase in self-esteem and a reduction in irritability after the horsemanship sessions. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis showed a clear increase in HRV during and immediately after the sessions further indicating that the program improved overall health.  The research presentation was made possible in part by a Presidential Scholars Award and is available here.  

Dr. Kaye Gehrke is head of the SHHS Center of Excellence Integrative Health core and is also launching a new master’s program in Complementary and Integrative Healthcare.  You can follow the new program here on Twitter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SHHS Student Research Fellowship

By Sarah Ann Marie Mendez
The National University Library launched a pilot project through the Center of Excellence that created an opportunity for the librarians to host student research fellows. Hi, my name is Sarah and I was hired as the first ever Student Research Fellow.  It has been one of the best experiences I've ever had because I have learned so much and have been given opportunities that have provided me a competitive edge moving forward into my career path.  This experience allowed me to work directly with faculty to do research and submit a manuscript for publishing.  Also, I was able to apply my new research skills in all the classes I took while I was a fellow, resulting in straight A's in all of my courses.  My time, here at the library, is coming to an end as I am getting ready to ship out for Army basic training but I will carry this experience with me forever. Below is a video about my experience here at the National University Library as a fellow. If you are inter...
8 comments
Read more

Health Science Faculty Member is a Finalist at the 2017 Athena Pinnacle Awards!

By
Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor Linda Travis Macomber was honored on May 4th by Athena, a San Diego-based business organization championing women executives and rising managers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  Athena's Pinnacle Awards are held each year in the spring to recognize extraordinary individuals and organizations who have shown dedication to in promoting Athena's mission of fostering the personal and professional growth of women through mentoring, education, recognition, and leadership training. Professor Macomber was recognized in the category of Education.  Under Linda's leadership, her Master of Science in Health Informatics program was recently recognized as one of the top 25 online Health Informatics programs in the country according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  She was honored with other finalists in a gala fund raising event at the La Jolla Hyatt on May 5th.  Several NU Fac...
Read more

SHHS Faculty Member Publishes Another Book!

By
Community Health Department Associate Faculty Member Dr.David Lemberg has published yet another book. See another of his works featured on the school blog here . This work is a first edition textbook. The 378-page tome features the exploration and analysis of ethical and legal issues in healthcare, leading to local, national, and global initiatives that make a lasting difference, will assist all of us in creating and perpetuating an environment in which the human spirit may thrive, flourish, and prosper. Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare provides a framework for and contributes to the ongoing growth and development of healthcare students across the spectrum of specialization in nursing, medicine, and the allied health sciences. You can order a copy of the book here . Truly a remarkable faculty accomplishment!
Post a Comment
Read more