Community Outreach Project
The Community Outreach Project is based on selection of a health promotion/disease prevention topic of interest to each student and then designing and creating methodology and curriculum for an educational presentation to a community group. Pre- and Post-Surveys are given at the time of the presentation and the results analyzed and presented to faculty and fellow students utilizing a narrated PowerPoint posted online.
The Community Outreach Project is in the form of an Educational Class and consists of several parts:
Designing, creating or collecting patient education materials that are written appropriately for the chosen target population and that reinforce the message of the community presentation in written, audio and/or visual format.
Implementing their project by presenting their topic to their selected target group.
Analyzing the results of data collected via pre- and post-surveys at their presentation to evaluate change in participants' knowledge of the topic.
Presenting their project results and recommendations/conclusions to faculty and fellow students.
Here is a small sampling of topics chosen by students in the past:
- Teen Sexuality – How Parents Can Talk with their Teens About Sex – parents and teens
- Prevention of STDs – high school students; 8th graders
- Prevention of Childhood Obesity – 4th graders; 5th graders; 8th graders ; high school students
- Eating Disorders – 8th graders; high school students
- Marijuana & Depression – 8th graders
- Polypharmacy – 65+ group at a community senior center
- Treatment Options for Menopause – 40+ women
- Fall Prevention in the Elderly – 65+ in community senior center
- ALOHA to Heart Disease in Women – African American women’s group
- Preventing Colorectal Cancer – targeting adults 50+
- The Role of Spirituality in Improving Quality of Life in Cancer Patients – cancer support groups
- HIV/AIDS Prevention – middle school and high school students
- Healthy Alternatives to Fast Food – middle school or high school students
- Urinary Incontinence – women 65+
- HPV Education & Prevention – high school students
- Prevention of Hypertension – African Americans
- Methamphetamine Use – high school students
- Organ Donation – high school students
- Advanced Directives – 65+ adults
- Immunizations – new parents
- Preventing Noise-related Hearing Loss – middle school kids
- Prevention of Poisoning – small kids (pre-school to kindergarten)
- Staying Healthy on a Budget - parenting classes
- Healthy Aging - 50+ adults