Eagles Participating in Community-Engaged Health (EPICH)
Practice Based Research
The Office of Practice and Research created the EPICH program to give students greater access to opportunities for participatory learning through engagement in practice-based research with faculty, staff and JPHCOIPH partners. Projects are funded for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Phase I project:
Title
Risking it all: The relationship of overall health and stress influencing risky behavior among college students.
Description
To date there is a diversity of work concluding that college age student have higher rates of stress and are more at-risk to engage in various types of behavior that are mentally and psychologically unhealthy. Many colleges and university have recognized these realities (ACHA, 2019). As a result, they have or are beginning to initiate student health programs designed to encourage and assist in providing students with an environment conducive to high-level wellness and to provide them with opportunities to learn how they can improve their level of health, reduce health risks, decrease risky behaviors, and maintain positive health behaviors. (See mission of the Georgia Southern University Health Services Health Promotion Office https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/swhp/). A critical part of this work is to have evidence-based real-time information that can be used to inform and lead to effective health education and wellness programs on campuses like Georgia Southern University.
Reference: American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2019. Silver Spring, MD: American College Health Association; 2019
The JPHCOPH Office of Public Health Practice and Research has begun an effort to build the college’s Undergraduate Research Program (along with its graduate level efforts) entitled Eagles Participating in Community-Engaged Public Health (EPICH). In line with work at the University level led by Dr. Asli Aslan (Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, JPHCOPH), funding was obtained to launch this project. The planned project is an extension of a Georgia Southern University Public Health classroom project under the direction of Dr. Helen Bland and previously approved by the Georgia Southern University Office of Research Integrity. All collaborators and contributing undergraduates (when queried about potential first projects) agreed, based on the pilot level results, this would be an important effort with high utility for Georgia Southern University. The current study is a population-level, cross-sectional survey project. As will be discussed further, revisions and expansion of the class project will comprise the planned work. These include: a) interviewing students at all levels (undergraduates and graduates) over the age of 18; b) revising, adding-on and testing of the data collection instrument; c) adding the Armstrong Campus as a study site; d) setting the participant target at 3000 to align with and strengthen the psychometric reliability of the data tool as well as the validity of the findings; e) elevate the project to the level of a research study; and f) use the results to provide data to support evidenced-based decision-making of the Georgia Southern University Student Wellness & Health Promotion Program.
Phase II projects:
Phase II, Project 1: (4 undergraduate students @ 15 hours per week.)
Eagles Participating In Community-Engaged Health (EPICH) unit. This is a renewal request from the very successful EPIC 1- project. For this renewal four (4) students are requested to participate as a cluster to work with faculty. The unit is housed under the office of the ADPR and students will be assigned to work as a group as a continuation of the existing public health service-learning effort – EPICH Project 1 – Stress and Risky Behaviors. It has a two-fold purpose a) Educational opportunity for case-based, service-based and experiential learning of students and faculty that will involve a focus on multi-disciplinary skills and methods that include data analyses, data interpretation, data summary, report development and writing utilizing public health evidence and existing literature for peer review publication; b) support data for CEPH requirement of engagement, integrative learning, and cross-cutting Knowledge, Skills and Practice (KSP) experiences; and c) present study findings at the University and other research symposia. SEE attached Year 1 report.
Phase II, Project 2: (2 Undergraduate students @ 10 hours per week). EPICH Project 2-Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Issues. To develop a peer mentor approach. In addition to the renewal of the successful EPICH project, this second project will center on the development of a faculty-student research team focused on Maternal and Child Health Issues. While the specific issues will vary, potential issues include a) attitudes and intentions surrounding breastfeeding b) improving health literacy to reduce adolescent health risk behavior c) Increasing awareness of perinatal mental health issues. The specific MCH research projects MCH M will be developed based on the faculty mentor’s areas of expertise as well as student interests. The planned work of the MCH research team has a twofold purpose: 1) To expose undergraduate students to the MCH research process from idea inception through design and initial implementation; 2) Connecting undergraduate students with faculty and graduate students in an effort to mentor them regarding the benefits and opportunities for potentially pursuing graduate education in MCH and public health. This project is requesting two (2) undergraduate students
Last updated: 2/22/2023