Cargando…

Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course

Two relevant topics in keeping populations healthy are handwashing and vaccinations. Thus, the service-learning project titled “We Are Healthy” campaign was introduced within a microbiology laboratory course with two objectives; our biologists would better understand the importance of these actions...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Potter, Beth A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8170022/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34093452
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.587094
_version_ 1783702147663134720
author Potter, Beth A.
author_facet Potter, Beth A.
author_sort Potter, Beth A.
collection PubMed
description Two relevant topics in keeping populations healthy are handwashing and vaccinations. Thus, the service-learning project titled “We Are Healthy” campaign was introduced within a microbiology laboratory course with two objectives; our biologists would better understand the importance of these actions by designing activities that engage the student community and to obtain an understanding of the campus community’s behaviors and beliefs concerning these topics. Students designed the campaign to include handwashing stations, pictures of bacterial cultures from swabbing common surfaces, and trivia questions testing their peers’ knowledge of various vaccines, as well as handwashing and vaccination surveys. To assess the impact of the campaign on microbiology students (n = 34), they were provided 10 questions that were scored on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Student gains (score > 3) were reported for depth in knowledge, development of better public speaking skills, and greater respect for volunteers suggesting that the campaign was beneficial. This study subsequently led to the receiving of grants that allowed the continuation of the campaign within the course, the securing of funding for handwashing and hand sanitizing stations and the initiation of new undergraduate research projects.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8170022
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-81700222021-06-03 Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course Potter, Beth A. Front Microbiol Microbiology Two relevant topics in keeping populations healthy are handwashing and vaccinations. Thus, the service-learning project titled “We Are Healthy” campaign was introduced within a microbiology laboratory course with two objectives; our biologists would better understand the importance of these actions by designing activities that engage the student community and to obtain an understanding of the campus community’s behaviors and beliefs concerning these topics. Students designed the campaign to include handwashing stations, pictures of bacterial cultures from swabbing common surfaces, and trivia questions testing their peers’ knowledge of various vaccines, as well as handwashing and vaccination surveys. To assess the impact of the campaign on microbiology students (n = 34), they were provided 10 questions that were scored on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Student gains (score > 3) were reported for depth in knowledge, development of better public speaking skills, and greater respect for volunteers suggesting that the campaign was beneficial. This study subsequently led to the receiving of grants that allowed the continuation of the campaign within the course, the securing of funding for handwashing and hand sanitizing stations and the initiation of new undergraduate research projects. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-05-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8170022/ /pubmed/34093452 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.587094 Text en Copyright © 2021 Potter. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Potter, Beth A.
Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title_full Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title_fullStr Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title_full_unstemmed Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title_short Implementation of a Service-Learning Project Focused on Handwashing and Vaccinations Within an Undergraduate Microbiology Laboratory Course
title_sort implementation of a service-learning project focused on handwashing and vaccinations within an undergraduate microbiology laboratory course
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8170022/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34093452
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.587094
work_keys_str_mv AT potterbetha implementationofaservicelearningprojectfocusedonhandwashingandvaccinationswithinanundergraduatemicrobiologylaboratorycourse