Community-Partnered Needs Assessment: A Strategy to Teach College Students About Health Disparities |
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Authors: | Farrah Jacquez Stephanie Ghantous |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology , University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati , Ohio , USA Farrah.jacquez@uc.edu;3. Department of Psychology , University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati , Ohio , USA |
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Abstract: | Partnering with communities to provide service-learning opportunities for undergraduates can be an effective strategy to teach college students about health disparities. In the current study, undergraduates partnered with a public K–8 school to conduct a participatory needs assessment. College students worked directly with teachers, parents, public school students, and key stakeholders to identify and prioritize health needs, and they awarded the partnership school a grant to address physical activity and bullying. Undergraduates rated the class highly favorably and reported a deeper understanding of health disparities resulting from the service-learning activity. Health disparities research is increasingly becoming a national priority and service learning can attract future talent by providing undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in the material in a meaningful way with clear community benefit. |
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Keywords: | college students community collaborations community psychology experiential learning participatory research pedagogy school health school partnerships service learning undergraduates youth |
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