P167 - Experiential Learning: Community Nutrition Class Field Trip to Rural Community With Associated Program Planning

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the impact of a rural community-based experiential learning (EL) project and field trip on upper-division nutrition student knowledge and understanding of challenges and opportunities of healthcare professionals working in a rural community. Target Audience: Faculty, students, and community partners. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Experiential learning has been well-documented to enhance student knowledge and professional preparation, but such high-impact activities can be challenging in high-enrollment courses. Descripiton of Course and Curriculum: Undergraduate nutrition students at the University of Kentucky take a two-semester Life Cycle and Community Nutrition course sequence. In Part II of the course, students work in groups to develop a community programming intervention and evaluation plan. For spring 2017, a semester-long project and day-long field trip to rural Whitesburg, Kentucky, was included as part of the course to expose students to real-world challenges and opportunities in such a rural setting. Evaluation: Students completed anonymous surveys (n = 77) at the end of the semester. Survey results indicated that, on a Likert-scale of 1–7 with 1 being completely disagree and 7 being completely agree, students rated “The EL activity helped me to have a better understanding of my role as a community member” as a 5.3 + /- 1.4, “I understand the attitudes of rural communities toward seeking and receiving healthcare” as 5.7 + /- 1.2, and “I am sensitive to the psychological, cultural, and social factors that affect rural patients' health” as a 6.1 + /- 0.9. On a similar scale with 7 being incredibly important, “How important do you think real-life applications are in your college coursework” was rated as a 6.5 + /- 0.9. Conclusions and Implications: Overall, students reported that the EL activity provided real-life application to the course and exposed them to opportunities working as a healthcare provider in a rural setting. Students provided valuable feedback on improvements that could be made to the project and field trip structure, which are being incorporated during the spring 2018 semester. Funding: None.