Teens Take a Healthy Interest in their Communities

A university-community partnership provides inquiry learning for underserved students and professional development for teachers while addressing the health concerns of all residents.

by Genevieve Bardwell, Cathy Morton-McSwain, Jill Hyde, John Lewis, Priscah Simoyi, and James Rye, Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown

Will your blood pressure improve if you stop smoking? How does music that teenagers listen to affect their hearing?

These are two of more than 100 research questions investigated by high school students participating in after-school clubs sponsored by the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), a community partnership program administered by West Virginia University (WVU). The community-based clubs are just one component of HSTA, which also includes summer institutes on the WVU campus and a comprehensive teacher professional development program.

A principal goal of HSTA is to increase college enrollment of underserved high school students, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of health care providers in rural West Virginia communities. Program evaluations show that initial results are very promising (McKendall et al., in press; Clark, 1999). Just as exciting are the benefits to students, teachers, and their communities in increased learning and improved health, as the following stories written by HSTA teachers illustrate.

Healthy Hearts for All

by Cathy Morton-McSwain

The Hike for a Healthy Heart project began as a result of students' experience at the HSTA Summer Institute and has evolved into a three-year community program to promote healthy lifestyles and decrease cardiovascular disease in our community. Beginning with the research question, "What is the leading cause of death in Webster County?" students examined courthouse records, a demographic study done by the local hospital, and state and national statistics from the Department of Human Health and Resources and the Centers for Disease Control. These preliminary searches revealed that cardiovascular disease was by far the leading cause of death.

The next step was to develop a survey, obtain written approval from WVU to conduct this research on human subjects, and distribute the survey to adults at local civic group meetings. The findings from these surveys pointed overwhelmingly to the need for education and increased physical activity in the community.

To address these needs, students designed a walking track that would be safe, simple, and convenient to use. It also was important to students that persons with heart disease could walk without becoming isolated and overexerted from climbing hills. Their planning resulted in a track that uses existing sidewalks and incorporates three levels of difficulty. With support of city council and equipment from the West Virginia American Water Company, the students measured the track. Finally, they designed a pamphlet to describe and publicize the track. These were distributed to community centers, restaurants, motels, and stores.

One year later, the students reviewed the project and realized that the track could be used more. With the help of city council, the local paper, and city police, the students designed a publicity stunt to bring attention to their project. They painted footprints on the sidewalks, color-coded to match the pamphlet. The newspaper covered the story as a case of vandalism. The town council issued a press release written by the HSTA students, and the police gave comments about the investigation to the paper. This continued for three weeks before "arrests" were made. The local paper carried the whole story with pictures of the students being arrested; the city judge declared the episode "a grave misunderstanding" and the City Council issued a proclamation that all citizens of Webster County should be walking to prevent heart disease.

HSTA students also created Just Jump, a program for elementary age students and a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. After three months of training and practice, the HSTA students began to conduct the program with fifth graders who learned jump-rope tricks and were encouraged to give up one unhealthy snack daily in exchange for a healthy snack.

The third year, the students continued both thrusts of the heart disease prevention program. Some volunteered at the new community health center where they could see that the pamphlets were distributed, and others put pamphlets at the local hospital and health clinic. Students also conducted the Just Jump program for all elementary children, preschool through eighth grade

The students in our HSTA club have learned so much: presentation and leadership skills, how to set and reach goals, and how to effect change. Because our community has seen such growth and self-confidence in these "once shy girls and boys," there has been great interest in the HSTA program. In response, our Board of Education now funds a Junior HSTA program for middle school students who are interested in science.

Is There Too Much NOx in the Air We Breathe?

by Jill Hyde

Living in what we call the "chemical valley" because of the high density of industrial plants, my HSTA students were interested in air quality. In our science classes, we had been studying about stratospheric ozone and substances that contribute to the thinning of the ozone layer. Through research and discussing our project with WVU personnel, the students were surprised to learn that whereas stratospheric ozone is helpful, lower-level (tropospheric) ozone may cause respiratory problems for humans and other living things. The students proposed testing the air in their valley to detect the presence of substances that might affect respiration and tropospheric ozone.

We made arrangements with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to get dosimeters for testing nitrogen oxides (NOx-the precursors of tropospheric ozone). A dosimeter contains two testing receptacles: one for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and the other for nitric oxide (NO), both of which are measured in parts per million (ppm). Each student received three dosimeters and was assigned a number so that the test results would be anonymous. The students were instructed to hang one in the room of their home where the most "burning" takes place, one in the room where they spend most of their time, and one outside. At school, we hung one in the boiler room, one in the second floor hallway, and one outside in a tree. After seven days, the students gathered the dosimeters and sent them to NIOSH.

A NIOSH representative met with us to explain the results. The students were surprised to find all the results of their tests were within safe limits. We also compared our results with those of another HSTA club further north in West Virginia, which had obtained similar results. What did this prove? Only that the air was safe the week we tested it. We are planning to run the tests again over a wider area and extended time frame. We presented our results at the annual HSTA Symposium and also placed second in the Kanawha County Science Fair.

The students were excited about this project because it addressed concerns within the community about living near the chemical plants. They researched their topic using the library and the Internet and learned about experimental design and presentation techniques. A mathematics teacher worked with them on analyzing their results with box and whisker plots and on how to find the mean. All of this added up to a winning project and a lot of learning.

Genevieve Bardwell, HSTA curriculum coordinator, plays a leading role in providing professional development and serving as a resource to HSTA teachers.

Cathy Morton-McSwain, a veteran junior high school science and HSTA club teacher, recently served as Teacher-In-Residence for the HSTA program.

Jill Hyde is a veteran junior high school science and HSTA club teacher. She has served as curriculum specialist for the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative and is a member of the HSTA Joint Governing Board.

John Lewis is a veteran high school science and HSTA club teacher. He currently serves as principal for Rainelle Elementary School.

Priscah Simoyi, a registered nurse and WVU faculty member, assists with health-related HSTA projects and manages a National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award that funds a portion of HSTA.

James Rye, WVU faculty member in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, serves as advisor and instructor to HSTA teachers who are earning their Master's degree through HSTA participation.

For more information about HSTA, visit the web site (nt-htsa.hsc.wvu.edu/health) or contact James Rye at West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6122, Morgantown, WV 26506 or call x1326.
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An earlier version of this article was presented at the January 1999 International Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science in Austin, Texas. This paper is based in part on work supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (RR-) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institute of Health. HSTA programs are part of the Keeping Kids in School Program, which is the national dropout prevention and career enhancement program funded by the Coca Cola Foundation.

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