Success stories: impact of Student Health Advocacy Projects on HKSAR Public Health

Abstract

Background: The MBBS Year-3 Problem Based Public Health (PBPH) module at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) exposes students to a broad range of public health issues, and prompts participation in advocacy projects. Summary of work: To characterize the scope, methods and outcomes of undergraduate MBBS student public health advocacy projects. Using a qualitative approach previous PBPH advocacy projects (1999-2010) were reviewed and classified into themes. Media exposure and other ways in which public health messages were conveyed to the community were coded into response categories and classified as active or passive advocacy. Summary of results: Advocacy project themes included smoking cessation, tobacco tax, obesity, organ donation, breast cancer screening, air pollution and cardiovascular disease. 24 advocacy projects were reported in the local print media; (19 in the top news section, 2 local news section, 3 editorial letters).5 in HKU newsletters, and 1 letter from the local health authority. Active advocacy attracted more media exposure. Conclusion: These advocacy projects addressed a wide range of important public health issues and used diversified and multidimensional platforms with high levels of student engagement. Take-home message: Based on this anecdotal success a formal evaluation study using Outcome-Based Approaches to Student Learning outcomes should be implemented.