Health disparities curriculum: Involving students in public health advocacy

Lower-income communities are disproportionately affected by poor health and early mortality, outcomes that are often linked to upstream social, economic, and political forces. Members of these communities have the greatest stake in improving their environment, but are often uninformed about factors linked to health disparities and/or unprepared to advocate for change. High school students can serve as powerful agents for pursuing health and social justice. A newly developed Health Disparities Curriculum (HDC) is designed to educate students about community-level risk factors for poor health, empower them to raise awareness about these risk factors, and equip them with skills to advocate for healthier communities. Adapted from an evaluated heart-disease curriculum and in response to teacher requests, this innovative HDC incorporates hands-on activities to teach public health. It is highly participatory and emphasizes how, in addition to individual choices, conditions of a community may shape health behaviors (e.g., availability of affordable produce). The HDC consists of ten lessons, divided into three units: 1) introduction to public health and health disparities 2) asset mapping and 3) public health advocacy. The HDC is aligned to state education standards and can be implemented by teachers with minimal training. Activities are low cost, do not rely on technology, and can be adapted for multiple settings. The HDC is being evaluated with 60 low-income, predominately Latino students in San Jose, California. Dissemination plans include expanding the curriculum within the existing partner school and ten schools in the district as well as posting it to the program's website.