. Ernesto A. Moralez; . Beti Thompson; . Kaitlin Englund; . Marilyn Drennan; . Nicole Mandall; . Helena Loest
Volume 10, Issue 11 , November 2020, , Pages 1-7
Abstract
CONTEXT: Immersing students studying health promotion and disease prevention into communitysettings facing health disparities is an essential supplement to their academic experience. ...
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CONTEXT: Immersing students studying health promotion and disease prevention into communitysettings facing health disparities is an essential supplement to their academic experience. As partof many public health professions, these students will likely need to understand the values andbeliefs of different cultures so that decisions of appropriate health promotion and treatment can bemade equitably. This paper evaluates an education immersion program that was part of a NationalCancer Institute funded collaboration supporting the recruitment and training of university students incancer research. The primary aim of the Health Disparities Field Experience (HDFE) was to facilitatean experience for students pursuing a health‑related degree to understand the conceptual issuesin border/rural health and the cultural contexts related to health disparities among medically andfinancially indigent populations in the region.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was conducted using qualitative research methods usinga variation of the content analysis approach using open codes to categorize the data. Six studentswere selected to participate in the HDFE (five graduate students and one undergraduate) and all sixof the participants completed pre‑ and post‑test surveys.RESULTS: From the analysis of the data, posttest qualitative responses indicated that threeparticipants saw racism as a primary cause of cancer‑related disparities, a change from theirpretest responses. When asked about the personal impact of the HDFE, respondents mentionedthe importance of the experiential component.CONCLUSIONS: Participants learned about health disparities from the HDFE and expressed highsatisfaction with this approach to education.