Document Type

Article

Peer Reviewed

1

Publication Date

3-2014

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery; Scholarship of Community Application

Abstract

This off-campus health education internship was conducted at the Christian Activity Center (CAC) in East St. Louis, IL. East St. Louis is a community filled with poverty, violence, poor health, and failing schools. The need for life skills and wellness education is significant. The goal of the internship was to provide practical health-related information to enlighten young women about their own bodies and high-risk behaviors in hopes that they could apply the information and make adjustments or choices to improve their own lives. To meet this objective a proven successful curriculum, Smart Girls Life Skills Training© (Smart Girls), was taught in conjunction with an educator from Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation (SIHF). There were seven class sessions held that covered different topic matter: enhancing self esteem, goal setting, assertiveness training, dating relationships, sexual responsibility, sexually transmitted infections, and a review celebration day. Approximately 15 adolescent females volunteered to take the class. A research component was incorporated to evaluate the effectiveness of the education. The participants took pre and post-tests before and after each session, a comprehensive post-test following the whole course, and a repeat comprehensive posttest two and a half months later. A control group of five girls also took the same repeat comprehensive post-test. The results revealed an increase in knowledge from the pre-test scores to the post-test. Additionally, significant results between the control group (M=70.2) and the experimental group (M=90.2) were determined. The results showed that the purpose was met but further research could be conducted.

Comments

Honors Capstone Project completed in 2014 for Olivet Nazarene University.

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