Development of a maternal health summer program curriculum to expose high school students to pharmacy, environmental health science, and community health worker careers.

چکیده اصلی

INTRODUCTION: The State of Texas has the highest number of maternal deaths in America, and maternal health outcomes are worsened by a shortage of maternal health providers. METHODS: We designed four training modules in pharmacy practice, environmental health science, and community health to train a cohort of high school students in a university-based summer research program. The training modules consisted of four self-paced online lessons, followed by a one-month period of small-group, hands-on research projects guided by research staff, and a cumulative poster presentation. The training was offered as part of the 8-week Maternal Health High School Summer Research Program at Texas Southern University. We assessed students' knowledge through quiz scores and student surveys. RESULTS: 20 students participated, of whom 19 completed the modules. The report indicated that students' engagement and performance were high across the four lessons, with participation ranging from 83 to 100%, and participants correctly answering 80 to 97% of the questions. Student feedback further indicated that the program supported early-career exploration, increasing students' interest in maternal and child health and healthcare-related career pathways. DISCUSSION: Our experience demonstrates a model for introducing health-related disciplines to high school students early in their career exploration years. Early education on maternal health may increase awareness of public health issues and encourage exploration of careers in public health and maternal health.

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