Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, PhD

College of Arts & Sciences

Health psychology, PSYC 357, explores the biopsychosocial aspects of health and well-being, along with causes of demographic health disparities and current health issues. In this initiative USD students work with Montgomery Middle School students in order to create a health fair at the middle school at the end of the semester. The Health Fair presentations involve posters and interactive components designed to provide age-appropriate and relevant healthpromotion information for the middle school students who visit the fair. The project provides USD student with the opportunity to apply what they learn in class and explore the challenges associated with health promotion and community organizing among different demographic groups. It also helps to highlight the assumptions they have about health behavior based on their prior experiences. The middle school students get exposure to USD, learn to interact with older students and gain mastery of material to provide them with competency feedback and bolstered self-esteem in addition to highlighting health as an important concern even at a young age. This is an ongoing collaboration of many years.