One of the most exciting trends in public health is the growing recognition that the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health requires the full participation of affected communities in addressing the issues involved. In order to cultivate partnerships with communities for the purpose of improving health, academic institutions need to develop effective educational programs that are firmly rooted in community experience and responsive to community needs. Service-learning is an innovative educational method which emphasizes application of knowledge in real world settings in the context of community collaboration and partnership. As an integrated model, service-learning can provide the infrastructure for building bridges between development of community capacity and academic training in public health. The program objectives are: to offer a one-year training program in prevention research focused on ways to minimize or eliminate health disparities in Harlem; to create or strengthen partnerships among the Harlem Health Promotion Center and community organizations; and, to enhance the Harlem community's meaningful role and involvement in prevention research. This presentation describes the design and implemention of the training program and reports on preliminary findings from the program's first cohort of students, faculty, and community partners.
Learning Objectives: 1.Differentiate between traditional forms of experiential learning and service-learning. 2.Describe how preparation, service, and reflection were incorporated in the training program. 3.Identify challenges in evaluating the impact of service-learning
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.