Stetson students produce public health coloring books and videos 

Integrative health science/communication students at Stetson University created two coloring books and videos that promote the importance of public health. The school projects were presented to the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County and will be used to raise awareness of public health in the community.

“Our students were excited about this community service learning project because it gave them an opportunity to explore the many aspects of public health on campus and in our community,” said Tara J. Schuwerk, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication and media studies and integrative health science at Stetson. “The students (many of whom are pictured with Schuwerk, far right, back row) produced and edited their video projects and designed interesting coloring books with creative characters. They enjoyed this project and did a fantastic job. They made valuable connections between their course work and the service they provided to the community.”

This is the first time StetsonUniversity and the Florida Department of Health partnered on a community service learning project. “We presented the student projects to our staff during our annual Employee Awards Program in early April and our employees greatly appreciated the work done by the students,” said Dr. Bonnie J. Sorensen, director of the Florida Department of Health In Volusia County. “It’s nice to be appreciated as we work daily to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. We applaud the students for understanding the role of public health and working to educate our community.”

The Health Department plans to provide copies of the coloring books at its four health center locations in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, DeLand and Deltona.

The student video projects can be viewed at these links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiQCzjZbrh8; https://vimeo.com/62868311.

For more information about the programs and services provided through the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County, please visit www.volusiahealth.com.

photo by Lauren Robbins