A Virtual COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program: The UI Health CHAMPIONS Experience

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Equity
• Digital Health

Background:

• COVID-19 has worsened existing socioeconomic and educational disparities for US youth.
• A dual pandemic of COVID-19 and structural racism requires innovative youth resilience and health promotion strategies.
• Health professions programs can integrate COVID-19 education to empower youth as community health ambassadors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a virtual program equipping youth with knowledge and skills for COVID-19 health advocacy.
• To foster empathetic and informative conversations about COVID-19 within youth networks.
• To promote digital health equity and community resilience through youth empowerment.

Main Methods:

• The COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) was developed using a virtual, multistage, and multipartner approach based on a Grow-Your-Own (GYO) model.
• E-learning modules covered virology, immunology, vaccine development, health disparities, and health advocacy.
• Human-Centered Design Thinking was integrated to guide youth advocacy project development.
• Freirean principles, including Dialogical Education, were applied to foster co-learning and empower participants as agents of social change.

Main Results:

• The program successfully equipped youth with knowledge on COVID-19 and health advocacy skills.
• Participants engaged in developing advocacy projects, contributing to community health efforts.
• The program fostered a co-learning environment, empowering both youth and student coordinators.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) effectively addresses public health priorities by promoting digital health equity and community resilience.
• The program serves as a model for training youth as community health advocates and encouraging pursuit of health professions.
• This initiative highlights the potential of virtual health promotion and education in mitigating pandemic-related hardships and systemic inequities.