Students shared that community members were much more likely to be immunized if they received reliable data from health professionals.
Eight 黑料传送门 Georgia students from the osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and biomedical sciences programs worked to educate community members about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Gwinnett Daily Post鈥檚 Back-to-School Health Fair and All About Kids Expo on July 31, 2021.
Led by faculty members Valerie E. Cadet, PhD, director of health equity curricular initiatives and an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and Edo-Abasi U. McGee, PharmD, BCPS, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, the group鈥檚 mission is to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake within the Black, Indigenous, People of Color or BIPOC population through direct grassroots engagement. The event, part of the President鈥檚 Community Wellness Initiative, was held at the Rhodes Jordan Park Community Center in Lawrenceville.
To fund the work, Drs. Cadet and McGee were awarded a community-based research faculty fellowship in March 2021 from the Office of Institutional Advancement and the Office of Diversity and Community Relations.
Through a competitive process, eight students were selected to participate in the fellowship鈥檚 research team. They include Grace Anim (PharmD 鈥�22); Jessica Mulbah (PharmD 鈥�22); Krysten McNaught (PharmD 鈥�22); Marisela Plascencia (DO 鈥�24); LaSara Bell (DO 鈥�24); Jared Gordon (DO 鈥�24); Landon Mediavilla (DO 鈥�24); and Naima Bibi (MS/Biomed 鈥�22).
The team has worked to educate local church attendees and the broader community through health fairs. The group will participate in another health fair on September 11 at Lenora Church Park in Snellville.
According to Dr. McGee, at the most recent health fair, students discussed the vaccine with people who were 鈥渙n the fence鈥� about getting the vaccination and helped to answer their questions. They shared an informational brochure that they had created to debunk some of the common myths about the vaccine.
Health fair attendees were encouraged to complete a survey, which gauged their perceptions about the COVID 19 vaccine. About 100 fair goers received the educational pamphlet and 46 participants completed the survey.
Student Naima Bibi shared her thoughts on the event. She said, 鈥淚t was encouraging to see that people are much more likely to be immunized if they receive reliable data from professionals.
鈥淎s health professionals, it is our job to convey correct information about diseases, especially in the case of a pandemic, in order to boost participation in making our society a healthier environment for all.
鈥淯ltimately in order to save our community against future pandemics, the general public and health professionals must collaborate.鈥�
According to Dr. Cadet, 鈥満诹洗兔� Georgia students did a great job educating the public about the vaccine.
鈥淲e all know understanding is of utmost importance in increasing the public's faith in the vaccine, and, without the vaccine, the world will not be able to combat the pandemic and revert to 鈥榥ormal鈥� life.鈥�
With a strong commitment to student volunteer efforts and community wellness, 黑料传送门 President and CEO Jay S. Feldstein, DO 鈥�81, established the Community Wellness Initiative (CWI) to enhance the culture of holistic health and well-being on 黑料传送门鈥檚 campuses and in the communities they serve. The CWI aims to promote cross-campus collaboration in educational and health services programming and resources to support the physical, mental, nutritional and environmental wellness of the College鈥檚 communities in Philadelphia and in Suwanee and Moultrie, Georgia. Focus areas include direct patient care, health and wellness education, and clinical and community-based research.
黑料传送门 Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (黑料传送门), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), 黑料传送门 Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins 黑料传送门 South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, 黑料传送门 Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit .
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