Product Details

Author Information

Corresponding Author
Daniel Lopez-Cevallos
Western Oregon University
345 N Monmouth Ave
Monmouth, OR 97361
United States
p: 503-838-8021
daniel.lopez-cevallos@oregonstate.edu

Authors (listed in order of authorship):
Jerry Braza
Western Oregon University

Product Description and Application Narrative Submitted by Corresponding Author

What general topics does your product address?

Liberal Arts, Public Health, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Social Work

What specific topics does your product address?

Access to health care, Advocacy, Community assessment, Community development, Community engagement, Community health , Community-based education, Curriculum development, Health disparities, Health education , Immigrant/refugee health, Program evaluation, Community-based participatory research, Service-learning

Does your product focus on a specific population(s)?

Adolescents, Asian, Children, Immigrant, Latino/Hispanic, Rural, Uninsured

What methodological approaches were used in the development of your product, or are discussed in your product?

Community needs assessment, Community-academic partnership, Community-based participatory research , Problem-based learning, Service-learning

What resource type(s) best describe(s) your product?

Best practice , Curriculum, Manual/how to guide, Service learning material , Syllabus, Training material

Application Narrative

1. Please provide a 1600 character abstract describing your product, its intended use and the audiences for which it would be appropriate.*

HE471 Program Planning is a Service-Learning-based course at Western Oregon University’s Community Health Education program. This course collaborates with community-based organizations to develop interventions (such as health education programs) and grant proposals. Our product (a website) has been developed to serve as a model for other community health, service-learning courses. Currently, we have six active projects and community partnerships. These projects include: supporting an orphanage in Vietnam (Forgotten People Foundation), raising Methamphetamine awareness (United Communities against Meth), building a playground for a rural school (Project Play), improving dental care for disadvantaged children (Dental HOPE), improving diet among WIC participants through community gardening (WIC/Marion-Polk Food Share), and increasing access to health and social services for farmworker families (Colonia Amistad). Two of these partnerships are highlighted in the website: the Forgotten People Foundation (FPF) and United Communities Against Meth (UCAM). This website describes the Community-Based participatory process which includes assessment, health promotion/education interventions, and program evaluation. All products developed during the course are shared with the community partners. The website highlights interventions developed by the two featured partnerships (e.g. FPF recent fundraising efforts now include supporting a public school in Bac Giang province; while UCAM is working with CASA advocates to better support foster care children).

2. What are the goals of the product?

The aim of this website is to provide a sample of our Program Planning class describing both the organization of the class and the service-learning approach. This proposal will highlight two projects, one international project concerning the development of an orphanage in the Bac Ninh Province of Vietnam and one local project designed to create awareness of the Methamphetamine problem in Polk County, Oregon. This product demonstrates the benefits of a positive ongoing partnership between Community-Based Organizations and Western Oregon University; raises awareness of two particularly successful partnerships (Forgotten People Foundation and United Communities Against Meth); and provides a model for community health courses in other universities to incorporate a Service Learning approach. We anticipate that, although our focus may seem more academic, this product will serve as a guide for community-based organizations that would like to engage in community-campus partnerships.

3. Who are the intended audiences or expected users of the product?

The intended audiences for this product are college or university instructors and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). For university instructors, this website highlights two partnerships exemplifying the feasibility of collaborating with international, as well as local CBOs. Instructors can use the website to access various materials to adapt the structure of a course focusing on service-learning to their specific needs/conditions. For CBOs, this website can be utilized as a resource to keep informed on the progress of the partnership over time; and to hold students and faculty accountable. Other community organizations can view this website as an example of how colleges or universities may engage with them.

4. Please provide any special instructions for successful use of the product, if necessary. If your product has been previously published, please provide the appropriate citation below.

We consider that the website format provides a user-friendly environment for successfully downloading/using/adapting the materials. We only request that the source is cited.

5. Please describe how your product or the project that resulted in the product builds on a relevant field, discipline or prior work. You may cite the literature and provide a bibliography in the next question if appropriate.

Our product builds on the need for a shift in curriculum as a reaction to environmental factors, issues surrounding health care, health professionals’ education, and the state of the health workforce (1). In HE471 Program Planning, we focus on developing a reciprocal process with Community- Based Organizations to give students a strong sense of collaboration, strengthen community organizations, and meet the needs of those organizations and their constituents. We utilize the three basic components to effective Service Learning: sufficient preparation (which includes setting objectives for skills to be learned or issues to consider, and include planning projects so they contribute to learning at the same time work gets done); service engagement; and reflection (which promotes awareness about community issues and a commitment to being involved in an experiential learning process) (2, 3).
The Service-Learning focus of this course is crucial to both the students and the community. Students in the HE 471 course are typically juniors or seniors. The Service-Learning pedagogy demonstrates how students can compare and balance theory and practice (4). Not only do student provide a service in the “real world,” but they become advocates for health and social change (5). In the health field, learning experiences that occur beyond the classroom play an integral role in achieving core community health competencies (4). Moreover, critical job skills such as communication and civic engagement are nurtured in service-learning courses (4, 6). Service learning partnerships evolve over time and ultimately, ownership by the community partners will add to committed engagement and sustainability of the project (7). Students in the HE 471 course are expected to complete and carryout two interventions (in accordance with their community partner). Although many are considered “short-term” interventions (i.e. attainable within the ten week period), students are constantly reminded that the community partners are not limited to a ten week time frame and that the core issues behind health disparities need to be addressed. In a Service-learning context, students raise their awareness of issues faced by vulnerable populations; which may create a stronger sense of urgency for culturally and socially-appropriate interventions (8, 9).

6. Please provide a bibliography for work cited above or in other parts of this application. Provide full references, in the order sited in the text (i.e. according to number order). .

1. Seifer, S. D. (1998). Service-learning: community-campus partnerships for health professions education. Academic Medicine, 73(3): 273-7.
2. Hunter, S. & Brisbin, R. A. (2000). The Impact of Service Learning on Democratic and Civic Values. Political Science and Politics, 33(3): 623-626.
3. Kraft, R., Krug, J. (1994). Review of Research and Evaluation on Service Learning in Public and Higher Education. The Corporation for National and Community Service.
4. Seifer, S. D. (2000). Engaging Colleges and Universities as Partners in Healthy Communities Initiatives. Public Health Reports, 115 (2-3): 234–237.
5. Wyatt, T. & Peterson, F. (2008). Promoting Social and Health Advocacy in the Classroom through Service Learning. Health Educator, 40(2): 77-81.
6. Gray, M. J., Ondaatje, E. H., Fricker, R. D. & Geschwind, S. A. (2000). Assessing Service-Learning: Results from a Survey of ‘Learn and Service America, Higher Education.” Change, 23(2): 30-39.
7. Dorado, S. & Giles, D. E. (2004). Service-Learning Partnerships: Paths of Engagement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 11(1): 25-37.
8. Amerson, R. (2010). The Impact of Service-Learning on Cultural Competence. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(1): 18-22.
9. Hale, A. (2008). Service Learning With Latino Communities: Effects on Preservice Teachers. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(1): 54-69.

7. Please describe the project or body of work from which the submitted product developed. Describe the ways that community and academic/institutional expertise contributed to the project. Pay particular attention to demonstrating the quality or rigor of the work:

• For research-related work, describe (if relevant) study aims, design, sample, measurement instruments, and analysis and interpretation. Discuss how you verified the accuracy of your data.
• For education-related work, describe (if relevant) any needs assessment conducted, learning objectives, educational strategies incorporated, and evaluation of learning.
• For other types of work, discuss how the project was developed and reasons for the methodological choices made.

In the process of developing our Service-Learning program, we explore various partnerships with CBOs. In a dialectic process, we (community partners and WOU) decide to establish, continue, or discontinue our partnership. Students enrolled in the Program Planning course meet the following course objectives by the end of the ten week quarter:
• Understand and apply program planning and evaluation methods to community-based Service Learning programs.
• Create a grant proposal needed to implement a service-learning project, which includes research overview, rationale , knowledge/service gap, specific aims/mission and objectives, demographics, planning model, needs assessment, strengths and limitations, and time line.
• Develop two (or more) appropriate educational interventions needed to implement the service-learning project.

Community partners are at the center of our work. They come to campus on the first week of class to meet with the new group of students and start planning for the term. Almost forty percent of the class is devoted to students working with community partners on site. In discussions with community partners, class meeting times have been kept on the same days (Mondays and Wednesdays) to ensure they have them on their yearly calendars. That said, students know they have to be flexible to accommodate their community partners’ schedules. Community partners are also invited to attend the final presentations on campus. Students are responsible to delivering the final products to their community partners. In order to more formally receive feedback from CBOs regarding the service-learning experience and ensure accountability, starting in Fall 2009, community partners fill out a confidential Partner’s Assessment of Student Performance form. The students are evaluated on their actual input towards moving the project forward as an individual and as a group, and students’ ability to follow through with his or her own contribution to the community agency and partner. The community partners also note the effectiveness of the partnership as well as any strengths and weaknesses. Ten percent of a students’ grade corresponds to the community partner assessment. The assessment takes place before the students give their final presentation and community partners fill out a questionnaire and email it to the professor to ensure privacy. We critically review the feedback about the students as well as the partnership in whole. One project (WIC and Marion-Polk Food Share Community Gardens) was shifted from a student group working each term with the project, to an internship opportunity for a few students. This partnership shifted because of the time constraints of the community partners (one is running for mayor), the lack of new ideas generated from the students and community partners, and the feasibility of working on a seasonal-project during the off-season. Throughout conversation between students, the professor, teaching assistants, and the two community partners, the decision was made that an internship opportunity would fit better than a Service-Learning collaboration. This way, WOU is still able to maintain a positive-ongoing partnership with the WIC & Marion-Polk Food Share Community Garden program.

The Forgotten People Foundation focus for HE 471 has shifted due to an increased interest in the FPF on campus. Now, a student organization/club exists, outside of the Program Planning course, which focuses on raising money to send club members to Vietnam to assist at the Home for Abandoned and Disabled Children. Because the club now focuses on the HADC, the Program Planning students have been requested by their community partners to focus on raising money to send children in the rural province of Bac Giang to school. Members of the student club have become a critical resource for the Program Planning students and will be involved in the evaluative process at the end of the spring 2010 term.

8. Please describe the process of developing the product, including the ways that community and academic/institutional expertise were integrated in the development of this product.

The development of this product has been a collaborative process mimicking that of the Program Planning course. This website was produced with the help of students, professors, and community partners, particularly The Forgotten People Foundation, and United Communities against Meth, which demonstrate two strong campus-community partnerships. Support from the Organizations’ program coordinators, Jerry Braza and Paul Pfinister, has been influential in both the student projects as well as the development of this product and both have provided feedback for the website. The student projects continuously strengthen in both their methods and their community ties. Without the professional relationship and accountability from the students and the CBOs, the community ties would not be as strong as they are at WOU. All materials posted in the website received feedback from students and community partners during the 2008-2009 academic year. Community partners and teachers assistants critiqued the initial submission and have suggested changes in light of the previous revision. Community partners previewed the various versions of the website and provided feedback (mainly when they came to campus to meet with students). Their input has been fundamental in moving the product forward. For instance, the community partner’s assessment of student performance is one of the latest tools developed. It reflects our commitment to working with community partners and accountability for our activities.

9. Please discuss the significance and impact of your product. In your response, discuss ways your product has added to existing knowledge and benefited the community; ways others may have utilized your product; and any relevant evaluation data about impact, if available. If the impact of the product is not yet known, discuss its potential significance.

Students majoring in Community Health at WOU must meet three learning objectives; first, students must be able to plan effective strategies, interventions, and programs based on assessment of individual and community needs; second, implement and evaluate programs; and third, coordinate, communicate, and advocate research-based practices. Incorporating a Service Learning-based course helps students reach these three learning objectives by providing students with the opportunity to engage in real life situations. Students at WOU do not have funds readily available to carry out their interventions or assessments, so it forces them to think creatively and critically. Because of the small size of WOU and the lack of funding for students, the potential WOU possesses to be a model for other universities is unique. The collaboration with UCAM and the Forgotten People Foundation are two examples.

The collaboration between the Forgotten People Foundation and Western Oregon University has raised over 3,424 dollars this year to benefit the forgotten people community in Vietnam. The forgotten people in Vietnam do not have adequate health care and living conditions, a new building is needed along with proper medical training for the nuns that work in the Home for Abandoned and Disabled Children (HADC). By raising enough funds, with the help of students from Western Oregon University and willing donors, the Forgotten People Foundation has the ability to see to the completion of a new orphanage as well as vocational training for the nuns. The training and orphanage will significantly improve the health care of the forgotten individuals as well as their living conditions. Western Oregon University students also hope to increase awareness of the conditions in Vietnam by hosting events like benefit concerts and Vietnamese merchandise sales.

United Communities Against Meth and Western Oregon University have partnered in order to unify all existing efforts against the meth epidemic in Marion and Polk Counties. In Oregon, the need for a consistent and solid effort against Methamphetamine is important because Oregon is the 4th in the nation for illicit drug use and 45th for access to treatment for illicit drug use . In 2004, Oregon law enforcement seized 448 meth labs; however, the number has reduced since then, to 18 in 2007 . UCAM has partnered with the Independence/Monmouth YMCA to create an afterschool safe place, for high school and middle school kids to hang out while having fun, called Nite Court. Western Oregon University supports Nite Court by generating an awareness of the activity while carrying out a clothing drive called Operation T-Shirt, locating potential foster homes, and setting up a community forum to discuss the meth problem in Oregon. By raising awareness around the meth problem in Oregon, UCAM envisions a meth free community.

10. Please describe why you chose the presentation format you did.

Two key considerations guided our selection of the presentation format: accessibility and flexibility. The chosen format for the presentation is a website in order to spread information in an up-to-date, easy-to-use, versatile manner. In other words, it increases accessibility of the information and at the same time the possibility of updating the contents as needed (flexibility). Nowadays, many people can access the internet from their cell phone, computer, and even television. Creating a website for this project will enable people to access the site from anywhere in their home or office. It not only provides a better platform for the class but also for the two Community-Based Organizations (Forgotten People Foundation and United Communities against Meth) depicted here. By providing links to their respective websites, they can also reach a broader audience that may be interested in supporting their efforts.

11. Please reflect on the strengths and limitations of your product. In what ways did community and academic/institutional collaborators provide feedback and how was such feedback used? Include relevant evaluation data about strengths and limitations if available.

The HE 471 course is constantly in review. This is made possible by several of the academic partners at WOU, community partners and teacher’s assistants. The syllabus and the grant proposal outline are reviewed by the writing center each term to make sure the assignments and objectives make sense to the students. Katherine Schmidt oversees the Writing Center and is an Associate Professor of Writing. The community partners have access to the syllabus, partake in an initial meet and greet with the students, and attend the student presentations at the end of the quarter. Mary Bucy, Professor of Educational Technology is a great resource for students. They are responsible for creating a YouTube video exemplifying the collaboration between WOU and their respective CBO. Moreover, students create a PowerPoint presentation, press release, and highlight two interventions they (in coordination with their community partners) carried out during the term.
Community partners assess the overall experience with students, with the opportunity to provide comments on students’ strengths and weaknesses. WOU asks community partners to assess the overall strength of the collaboration, provide feedback on the most significant contribution(s), and comment on what the collaboration should emphasize in the future. Community partners are responsible for 10 percent of the students’ grades, holding them accountable for professionalism and responsibility. Regarding our partnership, community partners have said that there is a “genuine interest in contributing to the overall project goals” and that “All team members participated equally and worked cohesively”. Also, they mention that our students have shown “positive rapport” and “flexibility”. However, they have also mentioned the need to improve “communication regarding when and where the meetings are taking place and how partners can best support the group” and “commitment to the tasks”.
In addition to Program Planning being taught by the professor, two teacher’s assistants are also available to provide support to the students. The teacher’s assistants are students who have taken the course and have demonstrated excellent leadership qualities and professional writing skills. The teacher’s assistants have the opportunity to use the experience as part of a practicum, gain four credits, and have the possibility for receiving an Americorps Vista scholarship. To receive the Americorps Vista scholarship, WOU students access the Service Learning and Career Development office directed by Michael Hampton, and coordinate with Tina Trinh, the Community Partner Liason.
Community partners and teachers assistants have critiqued the website in order to completely encompass the peer review process. During the 2008-2009 academic year, community partners previewed the various versions of the website and provided feedback (mainly when they came to campus to meet with students). Jerry Braza from the Forgotten People Foundation and Paul Pfinister from UCAM provided more extensive feedback, particularly on the pages highlighting their respective projects. Their input has been fundamental in moving the collaboration (including the website) forward.
One potential setback to the website format is that, although our current community partners all have internet access, future community partners and broader community members may still not have access to the internet. Also, no long-term evaluation of the course model has been carried out yet.

12. Please describe ways that the project resulting in the product involved collaboration that embodied principles of mutual respect, shared work and shared credit. If different, describe ways that the product itself involved collaboration that embodied principles of mutual respect, shared work and shared credit. Have all collaborators on the product been notified of and approved submission of the product to CES4Health.info? If not, why not? Please indicate whether the project resulting in the product was approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or community-based review mechanism, if applicable, and provide the name(s) of the IRB/mechanism.

The HE 471 Program Planning course is based on principles of mutual respect, shared work, and shared credit. WOU values the input from the community partners when developing interventions. This is an important aspect because students cannot expect to enter a community thinking they know the best course of action to take for that particular community. Students must learn to identify the needs, assets, and values of the community and gather input from the CBOs, community partners, and community members. This is reflected in the needs/assets assessment component of the course. Community partners also work closely with the students in order to develop efficacious interventions.
Throughout the quarter, students work individually, step by step, on a grant proposal which is continually critiqued by the teaching assistants. Once the individual grant proposals are finished, students work together in groups of three or four to complete a group grant proposal. The group grant proposal consists of the best works from the students which has to fit together neatly and cohesively. The CBOs as well as WOU students share their work with one another. Students have limited materials and supplies to work with so community partners assist with printing off assessment tools, providing translation services, and supplying other various materials. Students supply their time and effort to help move the collaboration forward so the CBOs can reap some of the benefits.
Not only have the collaborators of our website been notified of the submission to CES4Health.info, they were instrumental in the creation of the website. Jerry Braza from the Forgotten People Foundation supports the submission and has also provided valuable input and feedback to make the website better. Paul Pfinister, Project Coordinator for UCAM has been actively involved in the process of reviewing and critiquing the website. The teacher’s assistants have been involved in the submission and have also been a part of the reviewing process.
As a recent feature to the course, starting Spring term 2009 students follow provisions established by the Western Oregon University Institutional Review Board (IRB). These include an online application, Human Subject Assurance Training, and informed consent. Before conducting the assessment, students must request participants to review and sign the informed consent form (which has also been translated into Spanish). The IRB course protocol was approved under the IRB# 861, covering the whole class (aka blanket application) in order to carry out the assessment activities. In addition, each individual project submitted an application to the IRB.