R.E.F.O.R.M. Café: A Virtual Social Justice Health Education Program for College Students

R.E.F.O.R.M. Café: A Virtual Social Justice Health Education Program for College Students

Speakers: Kristine Fleming, EdD, Kenya N. Washington Johnson, JD, and Maria U. Okeke, PhD

"As colleges and universities continue to formulate a plan to address COVID-19, creative approaches are needed in community health education to include the development of virtual programs. Taking into consideration the social justice issues across the country, the R.E.F.O.R.M. Café following the World Café methodology was implemented as a community health program at a Minority-Serving Institution during remote-learning instruction. Although conversations related to current health disparities and inequities rampant in the country are difficult, these conversations must take place to prepare frontline professionals to address systematic injustices for future change.

Methodology/Description:

To generate small group constructive dialogue among college students enrolled in community health courses, the World Café methodology was implemented as a virtual community health program using Zoom. Students who participated in the virtual R.E.F.O.R.M. Café consisted of two sections of a community health education course with health science-related majors at a Minority-Serving Institution. Using the Zoom break-out room function, students were able to participate in a virtual R.E.F.O.R.M. Café, which provided an opportunity to generate three rounds of conversation to define change agency/race equity reform and willingness to act as a change agent. Barriers to act as a change agent were also discussed as well as ways to improve curriculum to encourage race equity reform. 

Usefulness/innovative:  

Recommendations from the study may assist educators and practitioners to create community health programs to continue to take place virtually despite the current health pandemic. Using the Zoom break-out room feature proved to be an effective tool to continue the tradition of a World Café style conversation virtually. In addition, findings from this study demonstrate college students willing to share perceptions related to social justice and health issues during the current pandemic to assist college and university health educators and practitioners to improve course content and curriculum to involve social justice pedagogy. The need for social justice pedagogy is apparent as health inequities continue to become more apparent as a result of COVID-19 and current protests in the U.S. Although health disparities in the U.S. have occurred for centuries, health educators and practitioners must come together to create a dialogue regarding the social injustices that continue to impact individual and community health and make recommendations for enduring change."