With its reliance on studies and data, public health can seem like a field that is mostly aimed at adults.
But high school students can play an important role in improving health in communities, and projects that engage students can pay off, said researchers who presented at APHA’s 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco in October.
A recent study found that involving students in corner store makeovers helps engage them in public health and in their communities, and the project had the unintended, but welcome, effect of broadening students’ horizons.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, focused on “makeovers” of four corner stores in East Los Angeles. Two makeovers have been completed, and the next two will open in the spring.
The aim was to transform the stores from typical convenience stores with a heavy reliance on sales of snack food and alcohol into stores that sell a variety of products, including fruits and vegetables. East Los Angeles is often referred to as a food swamp, where food is available but healthy food is hard to find.
Students participating in a market makeover elective course at their high school produced short videos on healthy eating. They were asked to look at the connections between nutrition and health disparities in their community.
Researchers are still collecting and analyzing data, but the student-based portion of the study has already shown results, said APHA member Mienah Sharif, MPH, who focused her research on mobilizing youth to help promote the made-over stores.
High school students from East Los Angeles work on the transformation of a store by taking down alcohol advertisements.
Photo courtesy Public Matters
Sharif said that through the project, students learned about structural inequalities experienced by low-income communities of color and came to understand that health disparities in their neighborhood are not just about fresh produce.
“Rather, they insist that these complex health issues can only be realistically addressed through simultaneous efforts to increase access to healthy food, decrease access to less healthy foods and address larger issues of poverty, unemployment and limited academic and professional opportunities in the community,” she said.
Sharif said students also discovered an interest in public health.
“This project has introduced students to careers and academic degrees they said they hadn’t heard of before, such as public health, dietetics, public relations and liberal arts colleges,” Sharif told The Nation’s Health.
The program also provided students with support for applying to colleges. Out of the 14 students who participated in the first cohort, all 14 were admitted to four-year institutions.
“This is a big deal for these students and their families, considering the neighborhood has a less than 50 percent high school graduation rate,” Sharif said.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
