Downs AM; Indiana University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Indianapolis, IN. andowns@iupui.edu.

PURPOSE: Health Promotion and Community Outreach is a required course for DPT students at Indiana University. Students were required to develop a brochure to address a health promotion topic identified by clients of a community agency. This midterm service learning project was designed to assess the knowledge and skills acquired by students during class, while producing a practical product for the community. FOUNDATION: The health promotion course meets the requirements in the Normative Model for PT Education as well as CAPTE Standard 3.8.3.34, which describes the promotion of optimal health by providing information on wellness, disease, and health risks related to age, culture, and lifestyle. In addition, the course addresses one of the APTA goals for 2004, which states that PTs will be universally recognized and promoted as the practitioners of choice for conditions that affect health and wellness. DESCRIPTION: Students worked in small groups to apply concepts from the Health Promotion course to produce a Health Education Brochure on an identified health promotion topic. Meeting with clients of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana Inc. allowed the students to perform a health needs assessment and apply principles of cultural competence in identifying topics of relevance to their clientele. Other concepts used included principles of wellness, disease prevention, and health promotion, and theories of health behavior and health education. The project was graded on content, format, readability, and creativity. OBSERVATIONS: Students were able to integrate their strengths in a group setting and put their knowledge and skills to use in a way not possible in the classroom. The brochures produced were of high quality, the result of impressive computer skills, accurate information gathering, creative thinking, and application of health education theory. Service learning enabled the students to apply course work to a real-life situation. Course evaluations by students reported the community connection to be the favored portion of the course. CONCLUSIONS: Producing a brochure to educate a target audience is an effective method of applying concepts of Health Promotion through service learning. Course content provided the background knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the assignment. Community service is a valuable method for educating DPT students, and both students and community members benefit from the interaction. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

Copyright 2004 by the American Physical Therapy Association

Reprint Information
Requests for reprints should be directed to the corresponding author of the article. Students and other academic customers may receive permission to reprint copyrighted material from Physical Therapy by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center Inc, 222 Rosewood Dr, Danvers, MA 01923. Similar inquiries by all others should be made to the APTA Editorial Office, Attn: Physical Therapy.