P3.G133: The HeART of Learning: Educational Perspectives Regarding a Formalized Curriculum to Teach Health Lessons and Art to Children in Foster Care

Background: The nature of foster care placements results in fragmented medical care that prioritizes addressing immediate needs rather than emphasizing healthy lifestyle through education. The October 2015 issue of Pediatrics, “Health Care Issues in Children and Adolescents in Foster Care”, highlights the importance of becoming "educated on the special health care needs of children and adolescents in foster care and assisting other professionals in addressing those needs." With those aims in mind, we collaborated with local nonprofits, One Heart Orphan Alliance and Lubbock Arts Alliance, to meet children in foster care in a community setting, allow medical students to teach health education lessons, and provide art lessons that reinforce health-related content. Through this partnership, we developed a structured curriculum of health lessons utilizing the COM-B model for behavioral change. The goals of the overall program are 1. To address health care disparities for children in foster care through a formalized curriculum, 2. To expose learners to the needs of children in foster care, and 3. To strengthen community partnerships that will continue to benefit children in foster care through advocacy and outreach.

Methods: Under exemption from the QIRB for program evaluations, medical students were surveyed to determine if a formalized curriculum of health education topics enhanced their perceived improvement of teaching methods as well as their connections to children in foster care. The primary analysis performed relevant descriptive statistics of the sample including mean/standard deviation for normally distributed continuous variables or median/interquartile range for skewed continuous variables.

Results: Survey results indicated that 88% of medical students had limited to no experience with children in foster care, 84% had limited to no experience with children with special health needs, and 72% had limited to no experience with teaching a formalized curriculum. Students reported that the importance, quality, and satisfaction of the program is extremely high, and their confidence in making a difference in the lives of children and in educating children in foster care was high. Furthermore, students reported that the experience was valuable, provided meaningful exposure within the community, and translated to improved patient education techniques in their future career.

Conclusion: EThis evaluation helped affirm our stated goals of educating children in foster care and equipping learners to teach and serve. Development of a formalized curriculum helped us meet educational objectives while supporting students in skills development. This program has been a foundational service experience for learners from our medical school, along with a crucial connection for community partnerships and advocacy within the region for children in foster care. Future steps include exploring perceptions of our community partners, introduction of inter professional education, and potential expansion within our community.