History

The Community-Based Public Health (CBPH) Caucus established a national youth council in 2010 at the request of

our youth members. The goal of the CBPH Youth Council (YC) is to provide a national voice and promote youth

involvement in Public Health and Social Justice. YC members then identified a need for comprehensive, age

appropriate educational material on health disparities/equity, social determinants of health, and social justice. This

idea transformed into the Health Equality Peer Educator (HEPE) training, developed for youth by youth that utilizes

peer-to-peer education, online webinar software, class-based lectures and both paper and online testing. HEPE was

a capstone project of three undergraduate students at Northeastern University – Travis Howlette, Jeff Wisnowski,

and Kelsey Anlionis under the mentorship of Kerone Anderson, Critical MASS c/o CCHERS, Inc. and Renee

Bayer, CBPH Caucus/University of Michigan.

Timeline

Methods

Needs Assessments: A survey questionnaire was distributed to the CBPHC Youth Council to assess the specific

interests of our participants and determine the content they felt was most appropriate for the HEPE training series.

Marketing: Participants were asked to use Amiando registration software) to register for the HEPE event. This

software provided demographic information for each registrant and collected information regarding how many

participants opened their e-mail notifications.

Presentations: The HEPE trainings were presented on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern in March and April and

then again in July and August of 2011 in three parts separated by 1 to 2 weeks using Adobe Connect software.

Adobe Connect is a user friendly system which allows interactivity through chat, polling, and emote buttons. (see

screen shots to the right)

Evaluations: A pretest and a posttest were conducted for each webinar lecture. Participants were provided with a

link to an online survey through SurveyMonkey (See Figure below for example).

SWOT Analysis: A SWOT analysis was conducted after each webinar lecture. The analysis helped to inform and

shape the next webinar lecture in the series. A final SWOT analysis was produced from all three SWOT analyses.

Results

The Needs Assessment results were vital in getting buy-in from participants as well as shaping the content for all three

webinar lectures. Although the pretest and posttest highlighted the main topics of each lecture, the evaluations did not

reveal a precise impact on participants’ knowledge. Data collected from the small cohort presents a challenge in

demonstrating the acceptability and feasibility of a web-based program.

The SWOT analysis after the first webinar lecture helped to improve the second webinar lecture series a great deal. In

particular, participants requested less lecture time and more interaction. Over 90% of the participants said that the

second webinar lecture was interesting and informative, especially the exercises.

The HEPE project highlights the challenges of working with web-based technology. In order to better assess the

learning process, various learning styles questions that identify specific knowledge, comprehension and application of

themes within the lecture series will help contribute to more robust data for evaluation. A specific training program for

implementing the HEPE would help supplement the basic tutorials offered by software manufacturers.

Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Lessons Learned:

Technology via web is useful in communicating and engaging with youth across the U.S.

Technology is helpful in catering to the younger generation’s desires in their use of their personal time

Coordinating with school requirements, such as a capstone, allow youth activists to contribute at a national

level

Involve the youth in the presentations and get them to share their stories

Have activities that can help presenters monitor participation

Utilize social media, registration software and an appropriate amount of reminders to promote the presentation

Allow enough time for set-up and proper training when conducting a peer-to-peer training

Make sure to go over housekeeping rules at the beginning of every presentation

Recognize particular times of the year where youth may not wish to spend their free time readily (holidays,

summer, winter break, etc.) and plan presentations accordingly

Youth led projects are very well received and supported by other youth and their supportive networks Future Directions:

Develop a strong evaluation tool for the future of the HEPE program

Record HEPE presentations and use alongside the CBPHC YC orientation of the live presentations

Evaluate survey data comparing live vs. pre-recorded HEPE presentations

Bring on more leadership within the development team coordinating with Northeastern University Health

Disparity Student Collaborative (HDSC) and the YC

Develop a one-year plan for the HEPE and new development team

Publish in a peer reviewed journal and/or CES4Health

Program Overview

HEPE training consists of three web-based lectures lasting 40 minutes-1hour each:

The Introduction to Health Disparities covers the basic definitions of health disparities, health inequities, and

health inequalities. It introduces the overarching conceptual themes of the ecological model and fundamental

causes of health disparities such as the social, institutional and environmental factors that contribute to poor health

outcomes.

The Introduction to Social Determinants of Health consists of topics around the three dimensions of racism,

education, socioeconomic status (SES), physical/social environment, stress, systems approach to health, and access

to health care/services. The concept is to package real world-examples and conceptual models. This lecture con-

cludes with a wrap-up activity involving scenarios that employ the identification of all the social determinants of

health mentioned in the presentation.

Introduction to Youth Activism on Health Disparities/Social Determinants of Health consists of discussions of

opportunities for action and policy advocacy around health disparities and the social determinants of health. This

training develops the background knowledge for youth to take action against health disparities and mobilize their

community. One of the main components of this presentation is the use of co-presenters to highlight achievements

of past campaigns/initiatives within their community.

Curriculum Bibliography

Bigby, J.A. (2007). The role of communities in eliminating healthcare disparities. Eliminating Healthcare Disparities

in America. Beyond the IOM Report, (pages 221-236).

Lenhart, A, Purcell, K, Smith, A & Zickuhr, K. (2010) Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young

Adults. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

McKay, C. (2010). Critical Service Learning: A School Social Work Intervention. Children & Schools. (32) pg. 5-13.

Mohajer, N. & Earnest, J. (2009). Youth empowerment for the most vulnerable: A model based on the pedagogy of

Freire and experiences in the field. Health Education. (109) pg.424-38

Nandan, M. (2010) Service Learning Partnership Between University and School Students: Experiential Learning

Inspired Through Community Research. Journal of College Teaching and Learning. (7) pg.25-35.

Perea, FC, Jefferies, J & Sprague Martinez, L (2011). Nuestro Futuro Saludable Curricular Model.

Watson, M. (2011). Systems Approach Workbook for Health Education and Program Planning. Sudbury, MA: Jones

& Bartlett Learning.

Howlette T, Anlionis K, Wisniowski J, Anderson K, Stanley E, Williams Q,

Saunders M, Bayer R, Community Campus Partnerships for Health, 15th

Anniversary Conference - April 18-21, 2012 - Houston, TX

The

Partners

The Program Screen shots from HEPE Trainings on Adobe Connect

Collage of both CBPHC YC and CCHERS’s Community

Voices youth that participated in the HEPE.

The Youth