Cruz, Stephanie

Grumley, Angela

Mendez, Francesca

Miley, Kerry

Murphy, Helen

Warfle, Emily

English

Ithaca College

Community	  Health	  Service	  Learning	  Through	  Development	  and	  Implementation	  of	  Need-­‐based	  Hygiene	  and	  Nutrition	  Intervention	  Angela	  Grumley,	  Francesca	  Mendez,	  Kerry	  Miley,	  Helen	  Murphy,	  Emily	  Warfle,	  Stephanie	  Cruz	  Background:	  	   Community	  health	  is	  the	  study	  and	  improvement	  of	  the	  overall	  health	  characteristics	  of	  a	  community.	  	  Aspects	  of	  community	  health	  include	  physical	  and	  mental	  health	  encompassing	  nutrition	  promotion,	  hygiene,	  self-­‐love,	  healthy	  relationships,	  and	  overall	  happiness	  in	  a	  community.	  This	  project	  focuses	  on	  the	  general	  health	  of	  children	  in	  Salamanca,	  New	  York.	  The	  City	  of	  Salamanca	  is	  unique	  in	  that	  it	  resides	  almost	  entirely	  on	  Seneca	  Nation	  Territory.	  Significant	  events	  in	  the	  region's	  history,	  such	  as	  forced	  assimilation	  of	  Indigenous	  people,	  forced	  removal	  from	  ancestral	  lands,	  and	  decline	  of	  industry	  has	  lead	  to	  poverty	  and	  poor	  health	  outcomes,	  placing	  Cattaraugus	  County	  as	  60th	  out	  of	  62	  in	  overall	  health	  outcomes	  according	  to	  countyhealthrankings.org.	  Salamanca	  is	  a	  hub	  for	  violence,	  drug	  use,	  and	  obesity	  contributed	  by	  poverty.	  	  The	  availability	  of	  public	  education	  is	  directly	  related	  to	  resources	  within	  a	  community;	  the	  Salamanca	  Youth	  Center	  (SYC)	  serves	  the	  City’s	  youth	  by	  engaging	  them	  in	  health	  education	  programming	  providing	  a	  safe	  haven	  during	  after	  school	  hours,	  while	  working	  with	  a	  limited	  budget.	  	  Our	  project	  serves	  to	  supplement	  existing	  programming	  in	  health	  education.	  	  Methods:	  	   Utilizing	  Lawrence	  Green’s	  widely	  accepted	  PRECEDE-­‐PROCEED	  model,	  we	  worked	  with	  our	  community	  collaborators	  to	  identify	  educational	  needs:	  hygiene	  and	  nutrition	  (Green,	  1974).	  	  We	  researched	  effective	  pedagogical	  methods	  to	  deliver	  these	  content	  areas.	  From	  our	  research,	  we	  developed	  lesson	  plans	  including	  novel	  activities	  modified	  from	  current	  proven	  approaches.	  	  All	  activities	  were	  approved	  by	  our	  community	  collaborators.	  	  The	  group	  traveled	  to	  Salamanca	  and	  spent	  two	  days	  immersed	  in	  the	  community	  learning	  about	  its	  strengths	  and	  needs.	  	  During	  our	  trip,	  we	  delivered	  our	  lessons	  at	  two	  different	  venues.	  	  On	  day	  one	  we	  discussed	  healthy	  snacking	  with	  children	  and	  parents	  while	  assisting	  them	  with	  a	  fun	  Halloween	  craft	  of	  filling	  plastic	  gloves	  with	  air	  popped	  popcorn	  during	  the	  local	  elementary	  school’s	  Trunk	  or	  Treat	  event.	  	  On	  day	  two	  we	  discussed	  and	  simulated	  disease	  transmission	  during	  play	  and	  during	  snacking	  using	  the	  product	  Glogerm	  (Glogerm). Results:	  	   Our	  health	  programming	  objective	  was	  to	  increase	  awareness	  of	  healthful	  hygiene	  and	  snacking	  habits	  among	  school-­‐aged	  children	  in	  Salamanca.	  We	  will	  report	  the	  impact	  of	  our	  program	  as	  it	  was	  observed	  through	  both	  participation	  and	  comprehension.	  Program	  Participation:	  During	  the	  Trunk	  or	  Treat	  school	  event,	  400	  bags	  of	  popcorn	  were	  distributed,	  meaning	  that	  about	  400	  children	  received	  a	  healthful	  snack.	  	  Our	  programming	  at	  the	  Youth	  Center	  was	  also	  well-­‐attended.	  During	  our	  discussion	  on	  hand-­‐washing	  and	  disease	  transmission,	  approximately	  20	  children	  participated.	  After	  the	  educational	  activity,	  approximately	  fifteen	  children	  remained	  to	  sample	  our	  healthy	  snack	  of	  pumpkin	  seeds.	  	  	  Lesson	  Comprehension:	  While	  simply	  choosing	  a	  healthful	  snack	  on	  Halloween	  (as	  opposed	  to	  candy)	  is	  a	  first	  step	  towards	  a	  more	  balanced	  diet,	  Trunk	  or	  Treat	  also	  proved	  to	  be	  an	  important	  site	  of	  community	  health	  promotion.	  Several	  children	  and	  their	  families	  stopped	  to	  engage	  with	  us	  about	  our	  snack	  and	  our	  vegetable	  costumes,	  allowing	  for	  a	  number	  of	  light-­‐hearted	  discussions	  on	  the	  vitality	  of	  eating	  a	  variety	  of	  fruits	  and	  vegetables	  to	  maintain	  a	  healthy	  lifestyle.	  Almost	  every	  child	  appeared	  highly	  engaged	  and	  entertained	  at	  the	  Youth	  Center	  during	  our	  lesson	  and	  exercise	  on	  germs.	  	  Each	  child	  present	  lined	  up	  to	  view	  the	  simulated	  “germs”	  on	  their	  hands	  underneath	  the	  black	  light,	  and	  each	  child	  practiced	  proper	  hand-­‐washing	  technique.	  Several	  children	  had	  to	  revisit	  the	  sink	  after	  their	  first	  round	  of	  hand-­‐washing	  failed	  the	  black	  light	  test.	  	  Our	  program	  provided	  a	  successful	  dialogue	  about	  the	  spread	  of	  disease,	  and	  reinforced	  the	  importance	  of	  proper	  hand	  hygiene	  and	  snacking.	  Barriers	  to	  Measurement:	  Since	  our	  time	  spent	  observing	  the	  children	  at	  the	  Salamanca	  Youth	  Center	  was	  confined	  to	  our	  two-­‐day	  trip,	  we	  presently	  lack	  data	  on	  the	  long-­‐term	  effects	  of	  our	  health	  programming.	  We	  remain	  in	  contact	  with	  our	  community	  collaborators	  and	  are	  receiving	  updates	  regarding	  impact	  and	  current	  practices.	  	  Discussion	  and	  Conclusion:	  	   Our	  time	  spent	  at	  the	  SYC	  illustrates	  innate	  curiosity	  for	  children	  to	  want	  to	  learn	  about	  health.	  	  However,	  we	  noted	  that	  some	  teaching	  methods	  were	  more	  effective	  than	  others	  in	  eliciting	  engagement	  with	  content.	  	  As	  future	  health	  professionals	  this	  service	  learning	  experience	  provided	  an	  invaluable	  opportunity	  for	  us	  to	  further	  research	  and	  develop	  our	  skills	  necessary	  to	  serve	  as	  community	  health	  educators.	  Bibliography:	  County	  health	  rankings.	  	  Retrieved	  from	  http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/	  GloGerm.	  	  Retrieved	  from	  http://www.glogerm.com/Company-­‐History.html	  Green,	  L.W.	  (1974).	  	  Toward	  cost-­‐benefit	  evaluations	  of	  health	  education:	  some	  concepts,	  methods,	  and	  examples.	  	  Health	  Education	  Monographs	  2	  (Suppl	  2):	  34-­‐64.	  

Community Health Service Learning Through Development and Implementation of Need-­‐based Hygiene and Nutrition Intervention

https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=whalen

Community Health Service Learning Through Development and Implementation of Need-‐based Hygiene and Nutrition Intervention

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Community Health Service Learning Through Development and Implementation of Need-­‐based Hygiene and Nutrition Intervention

Abstract

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Ithaca College

Community Health Service Learning Through Development and Implementation of Need-‐based Hygiene and Nutrition Intervention