Promoting Community Health During Covid-19: A Service-Learning Experience in Selangor

Abstract

Introduction: Given the prolonged movement restrictions that have led

to sudden lifestyle changes and rising mental health concerns, innovative

health promotion approaches are inevitable. ‘Health Fest UiTM’ was a

virtual health promotion program conducted to address some of the

overarching issues facing our communities during the COVID-19

pandemic. This paper aims to describe the implementation of ‘Health

Fest UiTM’ as a public health service-learning tool with a community-

based teaching and learning approach Methods: The ‘Health Fest

UiTM’ project was organized by the Department of Public Health

Medicine from the end of July to early August 2021. Four key themes

were identified based on a community health needs assessment. They

included: i) COVID-19 immunization, ii) mental health awareness, iii)

physical activity and healthy diet during the pandemic, and iv) domestic

violence awareness. Various activities were conducted using different

social networking sites (SNSs) and anonymity was ensured to encourage

greater participation and minimize stigmatization Results: In total, 214

fourth-year undergraduate medical students were involved in this

service-learning program. Five virtual live events displayed favorable

SNSs engagement metrics that ranged from 200 to 1000 participants and

the total number of views and shares for the educational materials posted

on SNSs exceeded 35,000. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has

accelerated the integration of digital technology into the performance

and delivery of service-learning in providing access to health

information and education as well as facilitating community engagement

through virtual platforms.