Implementing a Replicable Model for K-12 Health Literacy to Promote Positive Youth Development

ABSTRACT

This article describes a replicable model of health literacy that promotes positive youth development. Now in its fifth year of implementation and run by Advance African Development, Inc., it is an integrated year-long, in-class, student-centered, technology-driven, and service-learning youth empowerment program. Forty-minute sessions are offered once a week to create health literate K-12 public school students able to use the Internet to obtain and understand health information, and to practice informed decision-making about their health. Data collected were qualitative and included student service learning projects to solve community health issues. Community engagement exposed students to problem-solving, collaborative and transformational leadership, and advocacy skills. Prior to the program, less than half of the students had heard of MedlinePlus, and those who had heard of it rarely could describe its purpose. Approximately 500 students and 10 teachers participated, and over 40 sessions were provided from August 2015 to June 2016.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• community outreach projects
• elementary school students
• health disparities
• health education
• health literacy
• public school students
• service learning
• social determinants of health

Additional information

Funding

Developed resources reported in this article were supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4LM012342 with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Notes on contributors

Annamore Matambanadzo

Annamore Matambanadzo, PhD, MEd, BEd ([email protected]) is Founder, Executive Director, and Consultant, Advance African Development, Inc., 11 Danvers Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.

Mary Manyard

Mary Maynard ([email protected]) is an undergraduate nursing student, Barry University, 11300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33161, and an intern with Advance African Development, Inc.

Tawanda Matambanadzo

Tawanda S. Matambanadzo, BSN, RN ([email protected]) is a registered nurse and graduate nursing student, University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing, Victoria Building, 3500 Victoria Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, and an intern with Advance African Development, Inc.