HEALTH ADVOCACY PROGRAM: Sejal Parekh & Sheta Chaterjee Stanford University Community Health Symposium October 27, 2011 A Student-Led Movement to Promote Community Health via Education and Outreach

Need in the Community  Health Disparities  The poverty of the Latino population in Redwood City, CA is juxtaposed with surrounding affluence.  Nationwide, Latinos are 30% less likely to have health insurance than the average American.  Given the 20% obesity rate, and rising degree of cardiovascular disease among this population, there is a clear need for prevention. Outreach Efforts

Need in the Community  Childhood Obesity Prevention  Middle school students at McKinley Middle School have a basic understanding of nutrition  Area of improvement: Portion Control

Mission  To empower youth with the knowledge and tools to be proactive about their own health and to become leaders who are not afraid to take on the health challenges of their communities

Who do we target?  Middle school students in Redwood City  Underserved population without health care access in East Palo Alto and Redwood City  Stanford students and staff

Health Disparities Little Michoacan Theater District

Who are we?  Stanford undergraduate and graduate students

Organizational Structure Board Financial Officers Outreach Chair Education Interns Food Intern Health Interns Site Director Mentors

What We Do  Mentoring at McKinley  Focus on nutrition education at McKinley Middle School in Redwood City over 83% of students are Latino  Partnering with Citizen Schools, five college mentors teach grade students a 10-week curriculum  The curriculum is changed based on student evaluations

What We Do  Mentoring  Curriculum Emphasize healthy decision-making Only 30% could translate their knowledge into practice “Science” Experiments  WOW! Final student presentation showcasing their knowledge Iron Chef Cook-off Winning recipe was served in Stanford Dining Hall

What We Do  Outreach  Health Screening Fairs At Farmers Market Where Test Run: Mountain View Projected Run: East Palo Alto Impact Screened over 30 individuals in 2.5 hours Height, weight, BMI, Blood Pressure Nutrition Education  Looking expand in areas of food, education, and health

Partners  Citizen Schools  Jazmin Huertado  Nora Greene  Ricky Wong  Stanford Screen Team  Kelly Chen  Jayaji More  Mihir Gupta

Lessons Learned  Recruitment  What are participants looking for?  Consistent Commitment  Workload  Organization  Transitioning Leadership Timeframe  Future Vision

Lessons Learned  Service  What is needed in the community  More consistent evaluations  More partnering with community organizations  Funding  Stanford Funding vs. External Grants  Future Direction

Future Directions  Mentoring  More rigorous evaluations  Curricula that allows for teacher flexibility  Outreach  More concerted efforts to children  Partnering more with community partners  Consolidation of Knowledge and Resources with other similar groups

Acknowledgements  Citizen Schools  Screen Team, Arbor Free Clinics  Dr. Chris Gardner  Shubha Bhat  HAP Members  Haas Center for Public Service  ASSU  The Stanford Fund