CPHA MOR Survey Results - December 2013

The Connecticut Public Health Association (CPHA) Mentoring Organization Registry (MOR) conducted a survey in the fall of 2013 to determine the extent and range of public health activities led by MOR members in Connecticut middle, high schools and community colleges. The CPHA Mentoring Organization Registry (MOR) founded in 2007, is comprised of 33 public health organizational members representing a broad range of institutions, including higher education, local and state health departments and non-profits, with a goal of developing youth as future public health leaders and knowledgeable citizens. The members of the MOR expose youth to public health concepts and careers by providing experiential learning opportunities for middle, high school and community college educators and their students.

Of the 38 MOR members and participants polled, half completed the survey for a response rate of 50%. The composition of the sample included 16 representatives of MOR member organizations, one (1) non-MOR representative of an undergraduate public health program, and two (2) representatives from high school programs that have worked with MOR volunteers to integrate pubic health into their curriculum.

Survey Highlights:

• Survey respondents’ top reason for MOR participation was to raise public health awareness in their communities (78%) closely followed by increasing public health workforce diversity (68%); 63% wanted to improve youth health literacy and almost half (47%) noted that youth development is part of their mission.
• MOR members and educational participants wanted better ways to connect with each other. Over than 61% (11/18) wanted online notices when schools requested MOR services. (Currently, when CPHA MOR receives a request, the co-chair and/or consultant reach out to a MOR member to fulfill the request rather than announcing the opportunity on a web site or listserv.)
• The most widely practiced ambassador activity last year was guest speaking in the classroom (39% or 7/18), followed by advising teachers on curriculum development (33% or 6/18), and offering field trips (33%). More than 25% reported involvement in job shadowing and service learning.
• During the past year, the vast majority (89%) of MOR participants provided ambassador/mentoring services at least once. These included guest speaking, project advising, workplace tours, job shadowing, community service supervision/guidance and/or internships for high schools and/or community colleges;37% provided ambassador services five (5) times or more.
• MOR survey respondents reached students with public health activities and presentations in at least 13 communities across the state: Bridgeport, East Hartford, Farmington, Guilford, Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, Newtown, Stratford, Waterbury and West Haven.
• More than half of survey respondents reported using CPHA MOR materials (provided on the CPHA web site) including Public Health: A Career for a Lifetime, and Making Internships Work: A Toolkit for Public Health Employers. Just under half (47%) reported using materials from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.
• MOR members and educational participants wanted to help high school administrators reach experiential learning, capstone and community service requirements through public health. Three-quarters (74%) of respondents agreed with this statement, none disagreed; 1/3 reported that they would take a high school intern and an additional 37% reported that they might take a high school public health intern.
• MOR members wanted to improve their skills as public health ambassadors through training and access to new resources:
• More than half (54%) wanted to be notified of newly posted materials through a CPHA Linked In page, a listserv or email notice
• 44% wanted workshops and technical assistance focusing on public health lessons, capstones and internship activities.

Discussion:

In 2011, the CPHA MOR surveyed its members and several public health professionals who attended "Ambassador Training” sponsored by the CT Partnership for Public Health Workforce Development. Considerable growth in the MOR survey response rate was noted between 2011 and 2013: from 14.5% (8/55) to 50% 19/38). Respondents indicated that they were offering more and deeper types of experiential learning for these younger students. Field trips, workplace tours and job shadowing, in particular, increased significantly since the first survey. Service learning and project advising appeared to decrease, however the small sample in 2011 may distort this data: Only 3/7 reported involvement in this activity in 2011 compared to 5/18 in 2013. Below are comparisons of 2011 and 2013 responses.

Educators and public health professionals have witnessed a significant growth in the numbers of students and schools participating in public health activities, however, this has not been formally compiled. For example, since 2011, two full-year high school public health courses have been implemented in Newtown High School and the Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven. A health career course with a unit in public health was established at Manchester High School, and over 200 students participated in National Public Health Week in spring of 2013. Middlesex Community College will begin a Public Health course this spring and expand it to include an entire public health certificate program within the next few years. In short, the reach of these programs and the impact that they have on developing future public health professionals and citizens educated in public health needs to be tracked. As the programs grow, so will the need for trained public health ambassadors and mentors, and we will need to prepare.

Recommendations

Based on this survey, the following is recommended:

1. CPHA should establish and maintain a listserv to help MOR members share ideas, materials and experiences to engage youth in public health classes, volunteerism and careers.
2. CPHA MOR should use the listserv and/or Facebook page to facilitate connections between public health organization-educational institutions. A special effort should be made to work with health educators, educators responsible for community service and capstones, and academies with a health or environmental theme.
3. CPHA MOR needs to promote its pubic health workshops for educators and experiential learning opportunities for students. Educators need to know that MOR public health activities offer students credit for community service, capstones and internships. Ambassadors also need access to training to help them adapt to the middle, high school and community college student needs and interests.
4. The MOR should design a simple online reporting tool to help members track and report back their activities with educational institutions.
5. CPHA needs to secure funding for the MOR in order to ensure volunteer coordination and completion of these tasks.

For further information about the survey please contact Cyndi Billian Stern [email protected] or Pamela Kilbey-Fox [email protected].