Practice Report: Student Health Ambassadors at Residential Campuses Contribute to Safer Campus Living and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In summer 2020 six residential institutions of higher education (IHE) and the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Western North Carolina chose a collaborative approach to mitigating COVID-19 infection rates on campus. This approach shares the practices and successes of this concerted ef...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of higher education theory and practice Vol. 21; no. 8; pp. 144 - 158
Main Authors Lanou, Amy Joy, Perry, Jordan, Perry, Lane Graves, Garland, Brian, Hunt, Kari, Gold-Leighton, Kol
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published West Palm Beach North American Business Press 31.08.2021
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Campuses
Collaboration
College campuses
College Students
Communication Skills
Community Relations
COVID-19
Drug Use
Educational Environment
Evidence Based Practice
Health Behavior
Health Education
Health Promotion
Higher Education
Leadership
Learning Experience
Mental Health
Meta Analysis
Occupational Information
Pandemics
Peer Teaching
Population Distribution
Positive Reinforcement
Public Health
Racial Differences
School Culture
Students
North Carolina
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In summer 2020 six residential institutions of higher education (IHE) and the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Western North Carolina chose a collaborative approach to mitigating COVID-19 infection rates on campus. This approach shares the practices and successes of this concerted effort with a focus on a large public, medium public, and small private IHE. The campuses promoted a healthy and safe culture through a rigorous and transformational learning experience and focused on engaging Student Health Ambassadors (SHAs) in applying the Diffusion of Innovations model to peer-to-peer gain-framed messaging for health. Three institutions' programs are presented and cross-case analysis is used to illuminate transferable promising practices. Promising transferable practices across the schools include: selecting the right students, strong institutional support, the three Ps (positive, proactive and prevention-focused), building leadership skills, and peer-led campus culture change. Transferable insights from the practices at three campuses focused on the role and impact of peer-to-peer student health ambassadors on campus to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
ISSN:2158-3595
2158-3595
DOI:10.33423/jhetp.v21i8.4511