Graduate Research Papers

Availability

Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the Academic Health Department (AHD) partnerships, and the impacts that they provide to three entities: students, health departments, and academic institutions. Through AHD partnerships, internships and other kinds of field experiences are used. Internships provide an opportunity for academic institutions and students to interact with the community, provide experiences and motivations to work within the field, and cement the knowledge gained. For an AHD partnership to be mutually beneficial, it needs to provide benefits for both the academic institution, such as teaching and research opportunities, and the governmental side, such as service and manpower (Erwin & Keck, 2014). The partnership opens up greater opportunities for grants and funding with the addition of providing service-based learning opportunities for students. Students within their service learning experience are asked to reflect on their experience and relate it to the existing knowledge learned within the classroom (Cashman & Seifer, 2008).

The research that is currently being conducted analyzes the impacts perceived by academic institutions and community members. Research has not yet analyzed the benefits, barriers, and facilitating factors for students within these partnerships. This research will provide potentially new information to be presented within the literature and for the AHD partnership sites. The primary objective of this exploration is to establish the importance of internships in the Public Health field, students’ perspectives on their internship site, and the impact that AHD partnerships have on the community, academically, and in the preparedness of graduates entering the workforce.

Year of Submission

2024

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Health, Recreation, and Community Services

First Advisor

Disa Cornish

Date Original

5-2024

Object Description

1 PDF (29 pages)

Language

en

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