Culture of Wellness Week - University of Houston
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Culture of Wellness Week

Students at poster presentations during Culture of Wellness WeekThe Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences (PHLS) held Culture of Wellness Week November 16-20th 2015 in Farish Hall.  Each day, a different health related topic was emphasized.  On Monday the Health and Human Development & Family Studies programs held their annual Internship Fair for undergraduate students, then held a panel discussion on program planning in the real world; students presented posters presentations focusing on diversity & health on Tuesday; Wednesday’s theme was health matters in college students; Thursday, faculty, staff and students were encouraged to get on your feet, WALK IT OFF; and Friday was fresh fruit Friday.

The Culture of Wellness Week was an opportunity for students to meet representatives from potential internship sites, display and talk about the projects they have been doing in classes like Culture and Health, Program Planning and Introduction to Public Health, and learn from panel discussions with community leaders about the realities of health promotion programming.

A majority of UH students are experiencing a phase in life when establishing positive health behaviors, beliefs, and gaining awareness is critical. While many college students may believe they possess a thorough understanding of various health topics and issues, the reality is many individuals are unaware of health information that plays a factor in their health status. In actuality, this is true not only regarding students, but all individuals.

“This particular event was beneficial to the college because we focused on three key areas of health requested by the students themselves,” said Health Education graduate assistant, Jasmine Trier. “We provided students with health knowledge they felt they were missing.”

panel of experts speaking about nutrition, safe sex among college students, and gun policies at UHDuring the diversity & health poster presentations on Tuesday, there was also a panel of experts speaking about nutrition, safe sex among college students, and gun policies at UH.  The posters were unique because each group focused on prevalent health issues in underrepresented demographics in order to inform individuals about existing health disparities that need more attention. This health education was especially beneficial to students who will soon be emerging as professionals in the health field.

“I was so impressed with the quality and health topics,” said Health professor Norma Olvera.   “For instance, students presented information in a poster format about the high number of killing of girls in India and a possible solution to the problem.” 

“Our students were so excited about their projects, very invested in the work they did, and involved in the panel discussions,” said Health clinical professor and event organizer Kelli Drenner.  “These students will eventually work in the field of health and this was an opportunity to showcase some of their knowledge and, importantly, work as teams to deliver a product that they were proud of.”

This was a great opportunity for community partners and others around campus see that the Health program in COE is promoting health and wellness.   These events highlighted the great work that our faculty and students are doing to prepare future leaders in health.