2025/06/21 by Kalifa, Amira, Eboigbodin, Maya, Sekandary, Sanam +4
#Community Engagement #Ethnic Minority #Immigrant #Inclusive #Newcomer #Participatory #Power Informed #Racialized #Transdisciplinary #Visible Minority
paper · doi:10.11575/prism/49019
Introduction: The RISE program aims to engage with immigrant-refugee community youth to promote health champions and health literacy within their respective communities. We compared the RISE summer curriculum from the past five years to assess how the program has engaged with youth participants and integrated student feedback to improve the curriculum. Methods: We conducted a comparative analysis of the RISE curriculum spanning 2017 to the presentday to evaluate the impact of our community-based approach on the formation of the following years curriculum. Learning objectives, lesson plans, and materials utilized during sessions each summer were compared to observe the changes made based on student feedback. Results: Analysis revealed three major themes. First, there was a shift in session topics from more general (i.e., biotechnology) to topics that directly impact the lives of the youth (i.e., sessions on intergenerational trauma and racism). Second, though not all topics were changing across the years (i.e., coping with mental health and nutrition), the objectives and activities were being modified in a more age-appropriate manner and these topics were addressed in a multicultural way. Lastly, sessions were developed in a more participant-orientated way such that the goals of each session were not merely to impart knowledge but also incorporate skill-building exercises. Conclusion: In the future, it may be worth investigating methods that measure health literacy levels of participants and how they have applied this knowledge within their communities. With these implementations, the RISE program will further empower immigrant and refugee youth towards community health and wellness.