Online Program

279334
Connected 4 health: Developing an interdisciplinary network of leaders who work at the intersection of health and education


Monday, November 4, 2013 : 3:10 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Ariela M. Freedman, PhD, MPH, MAT, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Audra Williams, MD, MPH, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Amy Bryson, Health Behavior Department, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Brianna Keefe-Oates, MPH, Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Decatur
Sahar S. Salek, MPH, CHES, Emory Public Health Training Center, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Michael Turgeon, Teacher Leadership Development, Teach For America - Metro Atlanta, Tucker, GA
Trenton Murphey, Math Department, Teach For America, Stone Mountain, GA
Healthy students make better learners. Better learners grow into healthier adults, who raise healthier children, ready to learn. Unfortunately, the disparities in health and education mirror each other. This gap puts the nation's poorest children most at risk for untreated health problems and lacking critical reading and writing skills necessary for ensuring functional health literacy. Despite this link, education and health professionals often work in isolation of each other, not aware of the others' goals, methods, and complementary skill sets. Universities are uniquely poised to bring together such interdisciplinary community collaborations. ConnectEd 4 Health was created to bring graduate students and professionals in public health, medicine, and nursing together with Teach For America corps members and alumni. (Teach For America is the national teacher corps that works in high-poverty, under-resourced public schools.) By bringing together these individuals, the mission of ConnectEd 4 Health is to support healthy schools and communities by developing an interdisciplinary network of leaders who work at the intersection of health and education. This presentation describes the design, evaluation, and impact of ConnectEd 4 Health components: 1) Health Leadership Track: professional development for teachers on student health and health-related career options; 2) Classroom to Community: a community-university partnership course designed to provide hands-on health education training; 3) Community Engagement: health-related opportunities to bring teachers and graduate students together in the community. The ultimate goal of this presentation is to share the framework for ConnectEd 4 Health in order to develop similar partnerships between universities, schools, and communities.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the importance of creating a network of educators, graduate students, and health professionals to work at the intersection of health and education. Describe ways that universities and schools can bring health and education together by developing specific programs that address the needs of both fields.

Keyword(s): School Health, Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I created ConnectEd 4 Health in 2011 in collaboration with the individuals listed on this abstract. We are a group of educators, health professionals, and graduate students in public health, nursing, and medicine.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.