Health focus permeates service groups

How do you teach sex education to an incarcerated teenager who has already fathered a child?

Some might think sex education comes too late in such a case. But at the William Donald Schaefer House, a group home for teenage boys with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, Junior Wen Shi is shattering that notion.

Shi and other members of the Partners in Homewood for Sexual Health Education (PHISHE) spend an hour at the Schaefer House every week, giving demonstrations on sexual issues and fielding questions from the youths.

"Our goal [is] to encourage responsible choice and self-protection when they engage in sexual behavior," says Shi, a biology major at Hopkins. "They have so many different questions and ideas ... though they've had a lot of experience with sex."

Some of the boys have fathered children. Others have had multiple sex partners. But for all their experience, the boys still display some grossly misinformed notions about sex. Some thought they could spot a girl with STDs by her ear wax.

Because the questions can get technical, the group employs the help of medical students at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

"We cover such topics as male and female sexual anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, contraception, as well as responsibilities of sex and relationships," Shi says.

PHISHE is just one of many student groups at Hopkins that pursue health-based community service. Groups range in focus from education to advocacy to patient care. Groups like Project Prevent and Programa Salud provide educational resources for the Baltimore community; Project Prevent offers free primary care screenings and health information, while Programa Salud offers free translation services and cultural competency workshops for area hospitals.

The JHU chapter of the American Red Cross and SHADE provide health education for elementary school children; the Red Cross also sponsors campus blood drives and trains in CPR and disaster relief. The American Cancer Society at JHU sponsors fundraisers and cancer control prevention programs.

Other groups offer more direct patient care. The Baltimore Rescue Mission helps staff a free health clinic every Wednesday evening; members interact with patients, take histories and consult with doctors about diagnoses. Members of AIDS Buddies donate their time interacting socially with patients suffering from AIDS.

Considering Hopkins' close affiliation with both the top medical and public health schools in the nation, it isn't surprising that such groups exist. Public Health is the second most popular major for undergraduates, and 35 percent of the undergraduate student body consider themselves pre-meds, according to Director of Preprofessional Programs Mary Savage.

Matthew D'Agostino, assistant director at the Center for Social Concern, says many of the students involved in health-focused service groups are pursuing careers in the health field. But according to D'Agostino, the students involved have a primary commitment to service. Although health-focused service can provide professional experience and valuable resume material, the amount of work necessary for real involvement limits membership to those who are really dedicated to serving.

"[Students] do get something out of it professionally," says D'Agostino. "[For the groups] to be sustained on some level, you need everyone involved to win ... But are people involved for just themselves? I don't see it. Folks who want to do stuff just for pre-med don't usually last here."

As with student groups of all focuses, the real time commitment is spent organizing. Group leaders spend countless hours garnering members, making phone calls, enlisting professional help and planning events. D'Agostino feels the process is especially time-consuming for health-focused groups, who are often involved directly in administering healthcare to patients.

"There's a heightened responsibility -- people can be hurt," says D'Agostino. "It's not necessarily more difficult ... every hospital has a volunteer office -- they are used to dealing with these issues. You just have to be willing to put in the time to negotiate the bureaucracy."

Despite the time commitment, the benefits gained through such work go beyond simple job experience, according to D'Agostino.

"Learning that type of service is a good way of training people in what medicine is for," he says. "It follows very closely to the Hippocratic Oath."

In fact, D'Agostino would like to see more participation in health-focused service -- especially considering the large number of pre-med and public health students at Hopkins. He sees the need for more organization and perseverance -- since students are gone after only four years, there needs to be a means of providing continuity, and ensuring that the groups can continue their efforts for years to come.

"The continuity problem ... [is] an ethical issue," he says. "If you're going to give a service, you have to keep on giving it."

Elizabeth Kim, a member of Programa Salud, also sees the necessity of better organization. Even more important than membership is collaboration on the part of all health-focused service groups, she says.

"I think we'll have a bigger impact if we all work together, rather than do individual projects," says Kim.

Programa Salud has brought together students from other universities, as well as a variety of health professionals and government officials, in their yearly conferences, which are aimed at educating about cultural competency and overcoming language barriers in healthcare.

But this year, Programa Salud has geared away from depending on professional groups, according to Kim, and has instead turned its focus towards gathering support on campus. She says other groups are doing the same.

"Groups are getting smart," says Kim. "They're [realizing] they can't do it by themselves ... Our peers [are] more receptive -- they know where we're coming from.