Evolution of a collaborative model between nursing and computer science faculty and a community service organization...

Nursing and computer science students and faculty worked with the American Red Cross to investigate the potential for information technology to provide Red Cross disaster services nurses with improved access to accurate community resources in times of disaster. Funded by a national 3-year grant, this interdisciplinary partnership led to field testing of an information system to support local community disaster preparedness at seven Red Cross chapters across the United States. The field test results demonstrate the benefits of the technology and the value of interdisciplinary research. The work also created a sustainable learning and research model for the future. This article describes the collaborative model used in this interdisciplinary research and exemplifies the benefits to faculty and students of well-timed interdisciplinary and community collaboration.