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Strive-The Student View Students’ Impact on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan:
Senior dental hygiene students from the University of Michigan have the responsibility to participate in a 90-hour practicum project. This project is a service-learning experience that allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom while simultaneously providing community service. As a group, we (Renee Shaffer, Diane Murray, Courtney Fisette and Dita Dauti) assisted the Huron Valley Boys & Girls Club in the implementation of two educational programs. This program proved beneficial for all of the parties involved. The students benefited from enhanced leadership skills and commitment to civic responsibilities, while the community benefited by having the opportunity to receive professional instruction and access to much-needed health information.[1] The outcomes surpassed what we had expected and opened doors for future opportunities.
Population Served The Boys & Girls Club is an after-school club that provides a safe place for children 6 to 18 years old to participate in developmental programs, sporting events, homework help and fun![2] Approximately 90 percent of the club members we worked with were African American, while the remaining 10 percent were Caucasian, of Hispanic descent or multiracial. Most of the children were aged 6 to 12 and came from families of low to middle socioeconomic status. Many of the children shared stories of their home lives with us, which often included households with single, working parents. Some of the children also reported being raised by a guardian other than a parent who was also employed full-time. The children are sent to the club as a means of child care, and their guardians are assured of a safe environment for their child.
Needs Assessment The process began with a meeting at the Huron Valley Boys & Girls Club in Ypsilanti, Mich., with the club director and club coordinators. Together we discussed the needs of the club and discovered that due to limited staffing, two programs written specifically for the Boys & Girls Club organization, Healthy Habits and Crest Cavity-Free Zone, were not being offered as intended for the children. Healthy Habits is a program designed to educate children about the importance of a healthy diet balanced with adequate physical activity, while the Crest Cavity-Free Zone program is designed to educate children about the importance of maintaining a healthy mouth. Due to the high risk for both obesity and dental caries among these children, we identified a great need for effective and consistent administration of these programs. With our background and experience in nutrition and oral health, we felt perfectly suited to take over the implementation of these programs for the club. Also, due to the disparities in oral health and nutrition among this population of children, we felt it was important to bring this information directly to the children, especially since studies have shown that nutrition and oral health education need to begin during childhood.[4] Furthermore, by educating youth, we can hope to increase the public’s awareness of these important issues, and thereby improve the public’s oral and nutritional health.
We planned our program based on guidelines presented in the Healthy Habits and Crest Cavity-Free Zone curricula. Our plan included two lessons at each session, using visual aids to supplement the lectures. We created colorful posters, displays and models, and brought various materials for learning activities. After teaching only one lesson, we realized that our prepared sessions were far too long and too content-rich for the attention span of the kids. We went back to the drawing board to reassess the best way to teach this information to the children. We decided to limit the number of lessons covered and to focus on the most important aspects, focusing on the more visual demonstrations, interactive games and prizes to help give the kids extra incentive to participate. During this planning stage, we quickly realized the need for more money and decided that a fundraiser of some sort would be the quickest and most efficient way to raise money for our program. We wrote a proposal to the city of Taylor, Mich., asking permission to stand at a busy intersection to solicit donations. The proposal went to review by the city board, and after approval, we raised $318 in just one afternoon. This was more than enough to cover our needs. In fact, we were able to fund our program plan with $189, and the remainder was donated to the club to use however they saw fit.
Once we discovered the best instructional methods and obtained funding to make the program both educational and fun, we could really get started. Some of our most successful sessions included the “Fruit and Veggie Taste Test.” This activity allowed the children to taste different fruits and vegetables that they may not have encountered before. The menu included kiwi, starfruit, ugli fruit, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, etc. The children thought the activity was fabulous. They loved tasting all the fruits and vegetables, and by the end of the activity, each child had tasted every food! Another favorite of the children was the “All-Inclusive Relay Race and Nutritious Lunch.” The day began with a relay race designed around the things we had taught regarding healthy eating and the food pyramid. We incorporated information from the lessons and physical activity to provide a fun and educational game. Afterward, we offered a nutritious lunch that included one food from every food group. It was a hit; the children loved the games and the lunch and learned that it was not difficult to incorporate the food groups that we had discussed into their lives!
Results Outcome data were difficult to obtain due to the dynamics of the club. Some children attended only a single class; others attended only a portion of the class because they had to leave when their caregiver came to pick them up. We were limited in our ability to assess student performance; however, rough data indicated that the effectiveness of our program was at least promising. The students demonstrated proficiency in their ability to name the six food groups and give examples of foods within each group. They also demonstrated proper circular-scrub brushing techniques, as well as brushing habits such as brushing for two minutes at least twice a day.
Impact on the Students and the Community Through the process of planning and implementing our program, we discovered ways to introduce the participants to fun programs that taught them how to stay healthy. Aside from the curricular programs implemented, we spent time with the kids before and after teaching our lessons. As a result, we were able to get to know them on a more personal level and give them much-needed adult attention. Additionally, we participated in site-improvement projects; we cleaned up the club building (both inside and out), updated the bulletin boards located throughout the club, and even helped plan a painting day to complete exterior painting of the club woodwork. Our practicum program was well received by the Huron Valley Boys & Girls Club and, as a result, our experiences served as the beginning of what will be an ongoing relationship between the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan-Huron Valley Club and the University of Michigan Dental Hygiene Program. Since the completion of this project, two other courses within the dental hygiene curriculum have integrated projects that will include dental hygiene students teaching the Healthy Habits and Crest Cavity-Free Zone programs for the Ypsilanti Boys & Girls Club. As a result, the children at the club will receive much-needed education in nutrition and oral health on a consistent and ongoing basis with the hope of improving this population of children’s oral health.
Conclusions This experience was extremely beneficial for all involved. We, as dental hygiene students, learned how to design a community-based program, from assessing the needs of the population, planning and implementing the program, to evaluating our effectiveness. This rewarding experience has helped us recognize our role as health care providers within our community and has encouraged us to participate in future community programs. The children at the club benefited in more ways than we anticipated. Not only did they benefit from the opportunity to learn lifelong lessons in improving their oral and overall health, but they also benefited from our attention and interaction. They seemed to enjoy playing games with us or just coloring and talking about their day at school and/or their friends. We didn’t just show up to the club to teach them a lesson, we showed up to teach them important tools to better their lives, and we stayed after to be their friends. The program that was implemented between the University of Michigan Dental Hygiene Program and the Boys & Girls Club of Huron Valley is the start of a lasting partnership that will enhance the learning of both dental hygiene students and members of the Boys & Girls Club. The hope is to become a consistent presence in the club, refreshing the topics covered in the past and bringing new information to the children in hopes of improving the awareness and health of members within our local community. This partnership, and the journey, has just begun. Perhaps we will even see Boys & Girls Club members among the future graduates of the University of Michigan Dental Hygiene Program!
References
Renee Shaffer is a fourth–year student in the division of dental hygiene at the University of Michigan. The faculty mentor for this edition of “Strive—The Student View” was Carrie B. Ghaname, RDH, MS. Diane Murray served as peer editor.
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By Renee Shaffer
Dental hygiene and nutrition education are particularly important to this group of children for several reasons. Healthy People 2010 suggests that children of African American and Hispanic descent are experiencing higher levels of untreated dental caries.[3] Also, these particular groups are at an increased risk for obesity, or conversely, undernutrition.[3] While we did not perform any formal analyses of the children at the club, our assessments of the snacks provided at school, as well as the snacks consumed at the Boys & Girls Club, indicate the potential for increased caries risk. When dental caries goes untreated, children must often live with pain, which can lead not only to missed school days but also the inability to eat and/or concentrate due to oral pain. Dental and nutritional health education can help improve the oral health and overall health for these children, thereby decreasing the likelihood of untreated dental caries.
Implementation
