Health peer outreach by high school students.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Health Education

Background:

• Inner-city public high schools often serve populations with limited access to routine healthcare.
• Adolescents may face barriers to engaging with traditional healthcare systems.
• Innovative approaches are needed to improve health screening and awareness among high school students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a peer-led health screening program in an inner-city high school.
• To identify health abnormalities in students who typically do not access healthcare services.
• To increase health awareness and knowledge of medical career pathways among students.

Main Methods:

• Trained high school students as health screeners under the supervision of a health educator and hospital medical team.
• Conducted a variety of health-related examinations and tests on student participants.
• Focused on engaging students unlikely to interact with the routine health-care system through peer involvement.

Main Results:

• 480 students received screening examinations, with 291 (60.6%) found to have abnormalities.
• Increased awareness of medical issues and available health-care facilities was observed in the student body.
• Student screeners gained exposure to healthcare fields, enhancing their awareness of medical career potentials.

Conclusions:

• A peer-led health screening program can effectively identify health issues in underserved high school populations.
• Student involvement in health screening enhances their health literacy and career exploration.
• This model demonstrates a successful strategy for improving adolescent health access and education within a school setting.