Critical Discourse, Applied Inquiry and Public Health Action with Urban Middle School Students: Lessons Learned Engaging Youth in Critical Service-Learning

ABSTRACT

The Nuestro Futuro Saludable partnership designed a critical service-learning intervention focused on health equity and action. The 10-week afterschool intervention was implemented in a Boston middle school. Youths who took part in the intervention were knowledgeable about the social determinants of health in their communities, as well as to the barriers to health. Our findings indicate that engaging young people in a meaningful way will be critical if health improvement efforts are to be realized. We found that a critical service-learning framework that incorporates elements of applied inquiry and critical pedagogy was effective as a health intervention and provided opportunities for action.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based participatory research
• critical service-learning
• health equity
• youth engagement

Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the guidance provided by the Nuestro Futuro Saludable (NFS) community advisory board (CAB) and steering committee (SC) members, as well as the JP youth health equity collaborative. Particularly, Ms. Abigail Ortiz, MSW, MPH, of the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center who served as a liaison between the CAB and SC, as well as a champion for the study in the community. We also give special thanks to the NFS facilitators, the school staff, families, and students. Finally, we thank Ms. Lori Lyn Price of the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute who provide statistical support at the culmination of the intervention. This project was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD); grant number R24MD005095. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIMHD.