Putting together a health fair may sound daunting for some, but for the students in Dr. Sharon Desmond's Hlth391 class, planning and running a community health fair is part of their coursework. The group of students has been planning the Seat Pleasant-University of Maryland Health Fair for the better part of the semester.
All their hard work will come to fruition on Saturday, May 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Goodwin Park--the health fair will be part of the annual celebration of "Seat Pleasant Day.”
The Healthy Turtle will be checking in with the class in these weeks leading up to the event, but for some insight into how the class works, Dr. Desmond and Katie Cole, an undergraduate PCH student, submitted this article:
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This “health fair assignment” is a great one for students to participate in as it allows them to learn first hand how to plan, implement and evaluate a program--important skills for public and community health professionals to develop. At the same time students learn and practice these skills, they are providing needed services to community residents, so the assignment is also a wonderful service-learning project.
Other competencies necessary for public and community health majors is the development of community based participatory research (CBPR) and cultural competency skills; although this is not a formal CBPR project, students do improve their cultural competency skills and interact with residents, first learning about their health issues and concerns and then providing needed health information and activities the day of the fair.
Students in the class join one of six committees; each committee has specific responsibilities and tasks. The various committees include: Vendors/Exhibitors, Publicity, Topics, Door Prize, Facilities Management and Evaluation. Committee members meet on a regular basis outside of class to accomplish their goals, and the entire class spends time in-class periodically throughout the semester to share information, discuss issues and assess progress.
Thus far, the topics committee has conducted a needs and strengths assessment of the city of Seat Pleasant, examining both primary and secondary data to determine health concerns. Students on this committee, Meleah Boyle, Emmanual Kerry, Caitlin Monahan and Lauren Swanner, conducted a mini-environmental scan of the city, a focus group with residents at the Evelyn B. Cole Senior Center, interviews with community leaders (e.g. Mr. Derrick Richardson, past chairperson of the Seat Pleasant-University of Maryland Health Partnership), and reviewed data from a door to door health survey conducted by the Seat Pleasant-University of Maryland Health Partnership in 2004. They also examined data found in the Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey. Based on this information, these students identified the specific health topics other students in the class would need to address the day of the health fair.
Some of the health needs identified include heart disease, diabetes, access to care and physical activity and healthy nutrition. Students have formed pairs with each pair developing a three-sided poster with health information about their specific topic that they will share with residents on the day of the health fair. In addition to creating the poster, students will provide brochures and hand-outs residents can take home with them, and develop an activity related to the topic that will make the experience enjoyable and fun for both the residents and students.
The vendors/exhibitors committee has been busy identifying various health organizations who have agreed to attend the fair, providing screenings and health information. Organizations that will be joining us include Whitman Walker Clinic, Prince George’s Hospital Center, Planned Parenthood, Health First Wellness/Fitness Center and various departments from the Prince George’s County Health Department, among others. Free screenings that will be offered include blood pressure, glucose and glaucoma testing.
Students on this committee, Joi Coleman, Micaela D’Avilar, Kaye Gilchrist, Angela Mercier and Aaron Shapiro, are learning about the practicalities of working in the “real world” as well as all the “behind the scenes” organizing needed when planning such as event. They brainstormed on the various organizations that might be interested in participating and then called, emailed or sent letters to arrange for their attendance.
Announcements, articles, and fliers are being created by the public relations committee (Katie Cole, Jen Howard, Rebekah Joseph, Bashirah Moore and Tanya Torres) to inform the public about the health fair. They have also created a website, www.sphealth.webhop.org for interested parties to view. Participating on this committee allows students to develop their writing and creativity skills as well as learn about the various media and community sources used when publicizing an event. In addition to bringing the event to the attention of residents through area churches and schools, they are also informing the University of Maryland community.
The Evaluations committee (Luam Abraha, Cara Acidiacono, Eboni Jeter, Finda Moiwo and Kelly Siebert) is in the process of developing three different surveys to determine the effectiveness of the health fair, one for participants, another for vendors, and the final one for the students themselves. This past week they distributed a brief formative evaluation to their peers to assess students’ committee experiences.
The Door Prize committee (Amanda Brenneman, Camille Haywood, Amy Hillman, Katherine Johnson, Sophie Yan and Esther Yun) is responsible for securing prizes for the fair donated by various companies and organizations. During these economic times it is difficult to obtain prizes to raffle but these students are doing a good job! They have identified businesses that may be willing to contribute prizes or giveaways, written request letters, and sought give away items from our athletic department and other campus organizations. In the past youth in Seat Pleasant were thrilled with posters of UM football players or UM t-shirts.
Students on the Door Prize committee are also learning how to encourage organizations to participate in a community event that may not be their number one priority—which public and community health professionals often must do. An incentive offered to the businesses is that their support will be noted on the Health Fair Program that will be distributed to participants the day of the fair.
Finally, the facilities management committee will work with Ms. Darlinda Sanders, special assistant to Mayor Grant, to make certain the physical space is set up and ready to go the day of the health fair. They are also responsible for transportation as some students do not have cars; we will likely car pool to the health fair and rent a university van. In the past the chair of our department, Dr. Glover, has covered that expense for this assignment. These students, (Alexandra Bender, Meagan Kubisiak, Shakira Muhammad, Mary Mullenholz and Veronica Obeng) will also assist the vendors and other exhibitors joining us, making certain they have directions, tables, chairs and any other equipment they may need. They too are developing management, organizational and leadership skills.
Students are hard at work using the skills they are learning in their public and community health classes to plan, implement and evaluate this health fair. Coordination and collaboration has been a huge part of this project as all committees depend on each other to ensure a successful event.
This assignment is giving students a great deal of practical experience which is quite helpful as they prepare to enter the workforce as public health professionals. The Seat Pleasant University of Maryland health fair has been an invaluable experience for the students of Health 391. And we expect the actual day of the health fair will not only be educational, but a great deal of fun as Seat Pleasant residents and University of Maryland students share the experience!
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Thanks to Dr. Sharon Desmond and Katie Cole for writing this article. Check back soon for more information on the Health391 class's efforts to hold their Health Fair.
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