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.

Students first identify an area of public health need utilizing Healthy People 2020 to select an appropriate topic. The intent of Healthy People 2010 is to improve health outcomes of Americans through the achievement of the objectives in each of these focus areas.

The Community Outreach Project is in the form of an Educational Class and consists of several parts:

Designing and developing  a curriculum to an appropriate audience addressing an identified health promotion/disease prevention issue or an identified community health risk.  The project must demonstrate outreach to members of the community at large beyond an individual clinical practice.

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