This is an application to fund the expansion of the WU HSTA, currently active in 11 West Virginia counties, to four additional counties in West Virginia. HSTA provides academic (chiefly science and math) enrichment and orientation to health careers for minority and financially disadvantaged grade 8-12 students. The long term objectives of HSTA are to increase the number of underrepresented students who complete post-secondary education in the health sciences and return to rural West Virginia areas as health practitioners. Methods to achieve long-term goals include the provision to students of extended science investigations that have relevance to health. Also included are shadowing of health care interns and professionals and involvement in other health-related experiences (e.g., tobacco cessation programs), leadership training, and opportunities to enhance technological literacy (e.g., computer/Internet utilization). Secondary science teachers, community health care professionals and other community experts, and University faculty collaborate to provide HSTA programming, which is delivered through extracurricular community-based science clubs and a campus-based summer institute. The pedagogy and subject matter content of the HSTA curriculum are supported by the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. This expansion of HSTA programming will more directly impact the regular school science curriculum to emphasize inquiry and project-based science and includes a new partnership with the WU Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health.
| McKendall, Sherron Benson; Kasten, Kasandra; Hanks, Sara et al. (2014) The Health Sciences and Technology Academy: an educational pipeline to address health care disparities in West Virginia. Acad Med 89:37-42 |
| O'Hara Tompkins, Nancy; Rye, James A; Zizzi, Sam et al. (2005) Engaging rural youth in physical activity promotion research in an after-school setting. Prev Chronic Dis 2 Spec no:A15 |
