One Health Education: Connecting Humans, Animals, and the Environment

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SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposed project will expand on our NIH SEPA-funded R25 project which is to create and disseminate educational materials related to One Health - that human health, animal health and environmental health are interrelated. One Health concepts include zoonotic transfer of infectious diseases from animal hosts to human hosts. SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic infection that exemplifies One Health concepts. Increased SARS-CoV-2 immune health literacy among adolescent populations may prove impactful in promoting healthy behaviors in peers, family members, and communities. Health literacy has been identified as an area to address health promotion and wellness in adolescent populations as they transition to adulthood (Baur, Harris, & Squire, 2017; Paakkari et al., 2019; St Leger & Nutbeam, 2000). Moreover, increased knowledge about what occurs inside the body (immune health) can be bolstered with ongoing behavioral interventions to help adolescents reflect on what is happening outside their bodies, such as life choices and best practices for SARS-CoV-2 prevention. Adolescents often learn information outside the home and share the new insights with family members. Therefore, empowering adolescents as ambassadors for health literacy may address SARS CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine acceptance across the lifespan. In addition to formal educators (e.g., science/health teachers), nurses in this project will assist with health literacy promotion of adolescents. Health teaching is a task and responsibility of a registered nurse (Nursing, 2009). The teaching of health care promotion, disease prevention, and disease management fall under a nurse’s scope of practice (Bergh, Friberg, Persson, & Dahlborg-Lyckhage, 2015; Norful, Martsolf, de Jacq, & Poghosyan, 2017). Health literacy education has been successfully interwoven in nursing practice as an approach to close knowledge gaps related to patient-specific health in both hospital and community settings (Chrvala, Sherr, & Lipman, 2016). Moreover, health outcomes have been improved by nurses through educational interventions during patient care (Menezes, Lopes, & Nogueira Lde, 2016). In this project, we will adapt, develop, and evaluate educational materials to address SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy. This process will include: 1) Adapting existing Life Sciences Learning Center (LSLC) educational materials related to infectious disease and creating new activities related to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. This will be informed by adolescents, science teachers, and health educators (health teachers and nurses) with representation from medically underserved and/or rural populations, 2) Pilot testing and evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination activities with middle and high school students from diverse settings, and 3) Disseminating the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination activities directly to youth in the Rochester, NY area though LSLC outreach programs as well as to teachers throughout the US via the LSLC website and national conferences.