2001-2002 Annual Report

Introduction and goals

The Department of Health Education (DHE) supports the university's mission of teaching, research and community service through its work of:

• teaching courses for credit, offering training of students/faculty/staff and supervising and mentoring of interns and volunteers
• serving as service learning advisors, instructors, and community partners
• conducting and partnering in research and on grants, e.g., on alcohol/tobacco social norms and specific student health behavior (e.g., tobacco)
• collaborating with students, faculty, staff and the community in a broad range of projects to advance student and community health.

Our department mission is to discover and research ethically models of social justice and student support to improve student outcomes and build healthy leaders. We do this through teaching, community service, research, collaborations, environmental and institutional change, advocacy, public information, and staff and student development and support.

An effective college health service emphasizes certain features important to student and institutions of higher education, including a strong health education and campus outreach component (ACHA1993).

DHE had several staff vacancies (2.5 resignations, one retirement, one medial leave) this past year, challenging its capacity to conduct its expected full range of services, in addition to facilitating the HIV grant transition. Because of this, while several key goals were met, others remain partially met or unmet.

Accomplishments
Our underlying philosophy is to create and support opportunities for students to experience success and leadership, as this inspires healthful coping mechanisms and health-seeking behavior, in order to maximize student health and agency. In addition, our work helps make the university and community a smaller place, one with a sense of connection and community, which also promotes health. We see ourselves as a place where students learn to be agents of change with caring adults who value them as experts of their own life experience. This past year we conducted over 288 programs, presentations and exhibits, reaching over 16,800 students and others.

Impact of 9/11/01
Starting the academic year with the terrorist attacks challenged our plans and expectations. We found ourselves creating safe spaces in class and informally for students to express their feelings and views by changing our curriculum; programming on international issues of culture and difference; creating new ads for the campus newspaper and offering chair massages to help relieve anxiety; noticing students far more reluctant to volunteer and follow through than ever before; and supporting Middle Eastern/Muslim students who were feeling unsafe and vulnerable.

Teaching/training/supervising/coaching/mentoring
246 students trained in 7 courses (24 academic credit opportunities) and mentoring
Two academic departments awarding our training their own course numbers and catalog descriptions,
Including plans for a new peer seminar
Curricula revision to infuse social justice themes
SHADES
RA, bartender training
Student advocate weekend retreat institutionalized and student-planned, other student meetings (eg, students leading the Game of Life for other students)

Policy Development/Advocacy
Influential participation in RC smokefree residences policy discussion 10/24/01
Advocacy principles applied in academic classes and training
Public testimony (on public health performance standards 2/4/02, core curricula content standards on health 4/02, proposed tobacco legislation 5/9/02, college health Hill visit and leadership 5/29/02, state senator's office on sex education 3/8/02)
Nutritional food choices in convenience stores improved based on student advocacy project
Student advocacy interns - legislative scorecard by students, legislative dialogue on campus, press conference at Capitol
Stimulated professionals and students to speak out on important health issues, writing to policy makers, newspaper editors and professional journals, maintaining relationships with coalitions and legislators
Aided student internship placement in Senate Health Committee chair's office
Participated on: eating issues task force, women's center task force, alcohol policy committee on all three campuses (and revision of policy in athletics and residence life), LGTBQ task force, etc.
RUHS bioterrorism committee
ACHA national college health objectives task force
Created medical chart stickers to designate smoker/non smoker/ex smoker
Camden overhaul of crisis committee protocols

Academic/Research Collaborations

• Guest speaking (biology, alcohol, sexuality, Cook Perspectives classes, faculty meetings)
• RUHS as client in undergraduate public relations, and graduate research and evaluation courses
• Newark academic advising assistance and academic probation involvement
• CHI interventions and publications with the Dept. of Communications, social norms piloted outreach strategies; "Know It" grant survey and intervention site for tobacco programming from Rowan University on all three campuses
• Support of UMDNJ Human Sexuality Week with student and staff participation
• Admissions open house presence, RU academic challenge participation
• Student internships in: advocacy, mental health awareness, health promotion, and curricula infusion

Student Life Activity/Collaborations

• First-year student and stronger EOF student orientations and programming (eg, two-part nutrition and food shopping program for Cook College)
• Honors Colleges, international centers
• Monthly consultation meetings with Camden student residence life staff
• Camden and Newark co-sponsorship of "Vagina Monologues" and Sherman Alexi
• Stress-free zones during finals
• SHADES scene-building pilot intervention with LLEGO student organization
• Launched dialogue for campus tobacco task force
• National alcohol screening day on Newark and New Brunswick
• World AIDS Day, Ag-Fest, Folk Festival student activities
• Strong participation in NCORE training
• DC Wellness Week nutrition, body image, alcohol/other drugs, sexual health and SHADES presence
• Partnerships with sports medicine, dining services, honors colleges, counseling centers, academic departments, student life, residence life, police, student organizations, etc
• SHADES and LLEGO student organization scene-building workshop model
• 3-staff and 6-student delegation to the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity annual training - intense weeklong training will help form the social justice committee on each campus.

Community Service/Service Learning

• Highland Park Community Teen Center senior partner, where RUHS peer educators mentor high school students and teach health to middle school students); presentations in Millburn High School
• Staff on CASE advisory board and conduct several CASE courses
• Students placed in such community agencies as Babyland, RWJ pediatric AIDS division, Chai Project, Planned Parenthood, Hyacinth Foundation
• CASE community partner for special projects (eg, Safer Spring Break, mental health advocacy project)
• Four CASE courses taught (over 40 students, for 1600 community service hours)
• Guest lectured at other colleges (eg, UMDNJ, County College of Morris, William Patterson University, NYU)

Public Information/communication/media

• 21st Birthday Card project (5389 prepared, 1257 mailed, 1135 emailed to students for their birthday; 600 electronically followed up, 29% indicating the card influenced their thinking)
• Brochures (new on nutrition, 1/3 updated)
• Website improvements (interactivity, department and center-specific information - eg, Hurtado HC, ADAPS, women's health section), online assessments (on depression - 77% of 357 likely or very likely to be depressed, 78% of whom never sought treatment; on alcoholism - 60% of 88 drinking harmfully or dependent; and on eating disorders - 50% of 129 screening positive), 1400 questions to "ask the staff" (54% increase in questions received; 50% answered), student job applications and program requests online;
• Body Appreciation Week activities and student supervision
• Student nutrition advocates interviewed on NJN
• RUTV taping and airing two shows - on sexual health, eating issues and body image, and mental health; WRSU - on nicotine and sexual health, and Newark radio on STIs
• The Daily Targum series on sexual health by student health advocates, nutrition series unsuccessful getting to print
• Photovoice display in Busch Student Center gallery
• Student interview projects for classes and campus newsletters
• RUHS monthly executive updates for Student Affairs
• Health info in DC monthly stall stories; co-sponsorship of Camden Health Fair
• You Make the Balance nutritional packets for clinician distribution
• Material created: holiday eating survival guide, food safety handout, hand washing poster, safer spring break kits distributed, nutrition training manual; programs updated

Assessment/evaluation

• Know It tobacco experimental survey and intervention site
• 45 Nutrition Wiz forms analyzed (78% less than last year, but consistent with past 2 years)
• NCHA data further analyzed through graduate research and evaluation class; plans for fall '02 in all first-year student classes
• CQI projects: preceptor follow-up for program satisfaction, brochure liaison follow-up, RUHS material review and critique in public relations class
• Excel training and spreadsheet preparation for future analysis (budgets, health data, survey responses, etc)

Staff and student support/development

• Student infrastructure progress (communication, training and student room itself)
• Computer training on publisher, PowerPoint, and excel programs
• Letters of recommendation written for students and faculty
• NCORE professional development (3 staff, 5 students) on race and ethnicity
• Student awards at graduation (Newark) and Alegria (4, New Brunswick)
• Supported 8 students to attend College of NJ Peer Institute
• Nutrition program manual updated and improved
• Staff member recertified as CADC 2/02

Other outcomes

• NJ HIV Prevention Community Planning Grant relocated administratively and physically out of RUHS with a new 3-year contract and budget, and new administrative director and Principal Investigator.
• Students changing career direction or getting into specific graduate programs or jobs based on their work with DHE; one former advocate has being hired as a RUHS physician, another is a health educator at Montclair State University
• Students find the classroom experience so extraordinary that they either return after completing the course to visit with the subsequent next class, and others still in class bring their friends
• Greater involvement in the university and with task force work and its results
• Long lasting relationships with students and as alumni, returning to visit, keeping in contact electronically - with one another and with the Department
• Greater credibility academically, with courses being approved for catalog numbers
• Increase in referrals to RUHS
• RU Library of Science & Medicine highlighted and promoted RUHS web stress section in its promotional material, November 2001
• Virginia Tech adapted (and credited) our nutritional materials for their purposes
• Corner House Counseling Center adapted (and credited) our stress and eating issues materials for their website
• Staff member received "exceeds standards" rating on performance appraisal
• Reorganization of Intercollegiate athletics eliminated the Student Athlete Mentor training

What didn't happen being short-staffed
DHE was fortunate in that it started the year with some previously built momentum, hired a part-time consultant who knew its programs, and filled a vacant position with a highly experienced and skilled health educator. Despite those advantages, much didn't happen:

• stress grant with Livingston College (never written),
• celebration of 20th anniversary of the Department of Health Education;
• application of more selected alcohol task force report recommendations and initiation of innovative strategies (eg, 21st birthday card messages delayed);
• allocation of $1000 gift for lesbian/gay education;
• continued SHRIMP and other student action activities (applications received unable to be reviewed, for example);
• exceeded budget of hourly help to compensate for lack of staff in order to maintain core services;
• greater student attrition in veteran advocates losing contact with their primary staff person;
• student positions left vacant and infrastructure progress slower;
• sexual health and alcohol/drug focus weaker (and less progress than desired even though current staff tried to compensated for vacant staff);
• condom vending machines removed from university - no oversight provided;
• disappointed students, clinicians and campus and community partners as requests were referred out or grossly delayed;
• lost ground in leadership on- and off-campus;
• loss of continuity and momentum;
• other difficulties included slow computers, staff illnesses and exposure to chicken pox (resulting in staff quarantine off campus).

Awards
Fern Walter Goodhart - SOPHE's 2001 National Program Excellence Award, NJSOPHE 2001 Louise Chut Program Excellence Award
Students: Renaissance Award (Janet Schauben), Heart and Soul Award (Lisa Bess), RHB Student Health Journalism Awards (Rebecca Folger and Janet Schauben), "Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year" award (student alumnae), Outstanding Dietetic Student award (Janet Schauben) .

Presentations/Publications
Richard Powell - 9/21/01 RUHS presentation on tobacco use
11/16/01 student services conference on the Rutgers Alcohol Model
11/29/01 RC Counseling Service overview on student behavior
12/4/01 CASE presentation as Baltic state visitor
12/6/01 National Conference for Community and Justice

Francesca M. Maresca - book review for Complementary Health Practice Review on a wellness text, under review

Polly Mclaughlin - 2001 CAS summer session weeklong course on alcohol and the college campus taught

Robert Russo - RU student services conference, November 2001

Fern Walter Goodhart -

presentations
American College Health Association annual meeting, May 29, 2002, Washington, D.C. "Tips and Strategies for National Advocacy."

NJ Public Health Association, April 12, 2002, Piscataway, NJ. Moderated "Legislative Dialogue" and press conference release of scorecard.

National Coalition of Health Education Organizations leadership visioning meeting, March 15, 2002, Atlanta, GA. "Reviewing the Past to Prepare Health Education for the Future."

Center for Minority Health's annual meeting, January 11, 2002, Pittsburgh, PA. "Public Health Advocacy."

RUHS continuing education meeting, October 26, 2001, "RU Student health Behavior Perspectives: Survey Results."

American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Oct 22-24, 2001, Atlanta, GA. "Health Education in the 21st Century," "Scoring State Legislators: A Process for Tracking Public Health Policy."

publications
Goodhart, Fern Walter, "Blueprint for a Vision of College Health Education," J of American College Health, under review.

Grossman, Brian and Goodhart, Fern Walter, "Assess Student Motivation and Satisfaction," J of American College Health, in press.

Caira, NM, Sheinfeld, J, Goodhart, FW, Lachenmayr, S, Cancialosi, L, Lewis, C, "The Heath Educator's Role in Advocacy and Policy: Principles, Processes, Programs, and Partnerships," Health Promotion & Practice, in press.

Goodhart, Fern Walter, book review on HIV in Complementary Health Practice Review, vol 7, no 3, spring 2002, p 1-3.

Goodhart, Fern Walter, "Teaching Advocacy to Public Health Students," Health Promotion Practice, vol 3, no 3, July 2002, p 341-6.

CNHEO report, "The Health Education Profession in the Twenty-First Century, 1995-2001," summer 2001.

Leadership/community service
(task forces, volunteer boards, elected office, certification) - staff sought out by other colleges for consultation and technical assistance, as well as by faculty and student life staff here at RU
Fern Walter Goodhart - RUHS executive committee, RUHS web advisory committee, RU Task Force on Women's Center, Advisory Board to the HP Community Teen Center, RU Ambassador (making phone calls to help recruit the RU class of 2006), RU Academic Challenge proctor, Highland Park Borough Council, ACHA rep to national health education task force, CHI.
Francesca M. Maresca - IRB certified, CURVES student organization advisor, RUHS Continuing Education, RU LGB Task Force, RU Eating Issues Task Force, ACHA Healthy Campus 2010 Task Force, Social Justice Committee/NCORE Delegation
Polly Mclaughlin - RU Alcohol Implementation Committee, RUHS QCI committee, CHI senior partner, NCORE delegation member
Peggy Policastro - RU Eating Issues Task Force
Richard Powell - CASE Advisory Board, RU Alcohol Implementation Committee, Responsible Hospitality Resource Panel RU representative, NJ Higher Education Consortium, Communities Against Tobacco/Middlesex County, CHI
Robert Russo - Camden Crisis Committee, Alcohol Policy Committee, Orientation Committee, NCORE delegation member

Community Outreach/Service/Grants
[See Community Service/Service Learning and preceding section on leadership.]

Other Grants
Collaborations (with ADAPS):
With the Department of Communications:

Community Outreach
Facilitated njserves testing for a municipal website, arranging a client relationship for the graduate organizational psychology and cultural anthropology courses for Highland Park.

Goals for 2001-02
Teaching/training/supervising: continued 7 courses and internships for academic credit and volunteer or paid student experiences (246 students); further evolve student infrastructure project and relationships.

Policy Development/Advocacy: revised syllabi to build skills in inquiry, analysis, advocacy and social justice; displayed Photovoice results, but lost momentum to involve to key stakeholders at University (e.g., housing, dining halls); delayed launch of tobacco control efforts (in residence halls, programs for quitting), but successful collaboration on Know It! tobacco assessment; facilitated (and moderated) statewide legislative dialogue and scorecard press conference as student projects.

Student Life Collaborations: note: these activities did not happen as a result of being short staffed: applying for stress grant with Livingston College, celebrating 20th anniversary of the Department of Health Education; applying more alcohol task force report recommendations and initiation of innovative strategies (although we did launch the 21st birthday card project); allocating $1000 gift for lesbian/gay education (spent on NCORE support instead); continuing SHRIMP and other student action activities.

Academic Collaborations: continued CHI research teamwork for RU Sure? and RU Smoking?, accepted CASE and student interns for special projects, lectured in academic classes; Department was the subject of an chapter in a book on multicultural issues in health advocacy training.

Public Information/Communication: recreated RHB student health journalism award where journalism and student health advocates submit articles not necessarily written by themselves (although two awards were made for author-submitted articles); note: these activities did not happen as a result of being short staffed: building on RUNet activity and developing more systematic electronic strategies for web and video messaging.

Assessment/Evaluation: continued academic collaboration for assessment and evaluation of selected services with graduate public health class, interpret and apply results from NCHA survey; note: these activities did not happen as a result of being short staffed: CQI project of staff patient education needs and services.

Service Learning: continue as senior partner with Highland Park Community Teen Center

Research/Grants: facilitated transition by identifying new principal investigator in Bloustein School, new program administrator, new 3-year MOA as one project with one budget, and new office space and furniture.

Focus for 2002-03
In an effort to strengthen students' academic performance, leadership ability and loyalty to the university: reduce students' unintended pregnancy and spread of STIs, reduce dangerous drinking and the impact on "collateral" people in their social or geographic sphere, increase awareness of and demystify mental health concerns, and reduce nicotine dependence.
Teaching/training/supervising: continue courses and internships for academic credit; further evolve student infrastructure project and relationships; maintain core and interconnectedness of 250 students involved in DHE activities; pilot peer seminar; maintain timely knowledge base for student advocates; more deeply infuse cultural diversity issues and body image into training and interventions.

Policy Development/Advocacy: develop systematic strategy for nicotine dependence control on campus environmentally, clinically, and educationally; adapt convenience store strategy for nutritional choices to dining halls.

Student Life and Academic Collaborations: celebrate 21st anniversary of the Department of Health Education; apply selected alcohol task force report recommendations and initiation of innovative strategies; continue CHI research teamwork for RU Sure? and RU Smoking?; be present at student life events; develop social justice campus initiative and support "Faces of America" project.

Public Information/Communication: increase health presence on RUNet and RUTV; develop electronic strategies for web and video messages; increase student awareness of emergency contraception; improve nicotine dependence education programs and materials; update website utility and interactivity; apply CHI findings for tobacco and alcohol social norms interventions ("Know It" and "RU Sure?"); create refrigerator magnet with nutrition info.

Assessment/Evaluation: continue academic collaboration for assessment, analysis and evaluation of recent tobacco data; administer NCHA survey to first-year students; CQI project of staff patient education needs and services and RA perceived health and intervention needs; continue online assessments; continue follow-up evaluation of 21st birthday card project; to consider our services in light of the new national standards for health promotion in higher education, which provide a benchmark against which to compare RUHS.

Service Learning: continue as senior partner with Highland Park Community Teen Center, continue offering classes as CASE for community service, continue as CASE community partner, seek out additional course client relationships for Highland Park.

Research/Grants: continue CHI research collaboration in alcohol, nicotine and other drugs; national research project on organ donation awareness with communications faculty.

Student and staff support and development: Hire and train two new staff members; examine and strengthen relationships with RUHS staff (eg, structured orientation for new staff); create a strategy to recognize accomplishments and contributions of students and DHE staff; build strategies for student dialogue on values; recognize and document evidence of indicators; update DHE policies, procedures and student infrastructure; update DHE training material; create structures for greater student connectedness; strengthen skills in cultural competence.

Student comments
Our goals for investing training and supervision resources in a core of student health advocates is to develop a group of engaged, motivated students able to think beyond themselves to identify and act for change on campus in order to promote student health.

Health Advocates

• I met amazing people in class and in the DHE
• I never felt so cared about in a course/place at RU than in this class
• I gained confidence in myself and my abilities
• I realized how important the work I now do is
• I questioned a lot of my assumptions
• This is the first time I read sections of the textbook that were not part of the assignments.
• By far the most enjoyable class I have.
• The best class I have ever taken.
• I have a stronger need to become an ally, to make a difference, to get involved. It was not something I really considered before.
• My views on life have changed.
• I use to just be concerned about my own health now I am concerned about my surroundings, environment.
• Work towards a society of healthy people.
• I learned a lot that I didn't expect to.
• I learned plenty about sex ed but I didn't think the class would end up being a refuge from the fake and outside world.
• You can really connect and learn.
• I go home and tell my friends what I have learned.
• I give out a lot of good information now in random conversations.
• Working in the Department is a great experience for me.