A Community Intervention: Interproffesional Experiences Addressing Healthy Eating and Physical Activity at Cardinal Wellness (Spring 2022)

Abstract

Health Science 302 and 494 are courses that include junior and senior majors completing their final semester of coursework before beginning their internships. The courses seek to highlight the skills necessary to delivery health education programs in a variety of settings, where micro-level (interpersonal interactions) and macro-level (organizational and mass-media) applications are emphasized. Many of the course objectives are achieved in the context of a semester-long group project, where each student group is asked to identify a health problem and develop a social marketing-driven health campaign for community members taking part in exercise classes at the Cardinal Wellness program at Harvest Christian Church in Muncie's Whitely community. Students in the spring section of HSC 302 (Program Planning II – 10 students total) were asked to implement the social marketing programs designed by the 494 students in the fall semester, as part of the next integration of the Immersive Learning grant. Social media content was published on the program’s Facebook page and print materials were distributed on site at Cardinal Wellness by students in the course during brief educational sessions. Topics ranged from exercising at home to managing stress as a caregiver and prevention of kidney disease.