HEALTH ADVOCACY PROGRAM:

Sejal Parekh & Sheta Chaterjee

Stanford University

Community Health Symposium

October 27, 2011

A Student-Led Movement to Promote Community Health via Education and Outreach

Need in the Community

Health Disparities The poverty of the Latino population in

Redwood City, CA is juxtaposed with surrounding affluence.

Nationwide, Latinos are 30% less likely to have health insurance than the average American.

Given the 20% obesity rate, and rising degree of cardiovascular disease among this population, there is a clear need for prevention. Outreach Efforts

Need in the Community

Childhood Obesity Prevention Middle school

students at McKinley Middle School have a basic understanding of nutrition

Area of improvement: Portion Control

Good/bad fats

Affect Heart

Digesting Vitamins

Daily Fat Intake

Solid or liquid

fats

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fats Pre-evaluation Spring 2010

Fat Knowledge

Per

cen

t A

nsw

ered

Cor

rect

ly

Mission

To empower youth with the knowledge and tools to be proactive about their own health and to become leaders who are not afraid to take on the health challenges of their communities

Who do we target?

Middle school students in Redwood City Underserved population without health

care access in East Palo Alto and Redwood City

Stanford students and staff

Health DisparitiesLittle Michoacan Theater District

Who are we?

Stanford undergraduate and graduate students

09-10 10-11 11-120

10

20

30

40

Member Participation

Years of Service

Nu

mb

er o

f M

emb

ers

Organizational Structure

Board

Financial Officers

Outreach Chair

Education Interns

Food Intern

Health Interns

Site Director

Mentors

What We Do

Mentoring at McKinley Focus on nutrition education

at McKinley Middle School in Redwood City over 83% of students are

Latino Partnering with Citizen

Schools, five college mentors teach 20 6-8 grade students a 10-week curriculum

The curriculum is changed based on student evaluations

What We Do

Mentoring Curriculum

Emphasize healthy decision-making

Only 30% could translate their knowledge into practice

“Science” Experiments WOW!

Final student presentation showcasing their knowledge

Iron Chef Cook-off Winning recipe was served in

Stanford Dining Hall

What We Do

Outreach Health Screening Fairs At

Farmers Market Where

Test Run: Mountain View Projected Run: East Palo Alto

Impact Screened over 30 individuals in

2.5 hours Height, weight, BMI, Blood

Pressure Nutrition Education

Looking expand in areas of food, education, and health

Partners

Citizen Schools Jazmin Huertado Nora Greene Ricky Wong

Stanford Screen Team Kelly Chen Jayaji More Mihir Gupta

Lessons Learned

Recruitment What are participants

looking for? Consistent

Commitment Workload

Organization Transitioning

Leadership Timeframe

Future Vision

Lessons Learned

Service What is needed in the

community More consistent

evaluations More partnering with

community organizations Funding

Stanford Funding vs. External Grants

Future Direction

Future Directions

Mentoring More rigorous evaluations Curricula that allows for teacher flexibility

Outreach More concerted efforts to children Partnering more with community partners

Consolidation of Knowledge and Resources with other similar groups

Acknowledgements

Citizen Schools Screen Team, Arbor Free

Clinics Dr. Chris Gardner Shubha Bhat HAP Members Haas Center for Public

Service ASSU The Stanford Fund