Action Research for College Community Health Works: Getting Out, Going Into and Giving Back

This work is designed as a working resource for academicians and practioners involved with community health work at the higher educational level. Faculty, students and community participants are the focus of this collection whose purpose is community health-based service learning— where and when coming out to the community as caring catalysts is central to a higher education mission. All these catalysts must see themselves as partners in a service learning community of practice; They must embrace the analysis of self reflection toward cultural competence, and thy must engage in data and diagnostic decision-making through action research or service learning in community health intervention. Service learning literacy is defined as skill, behavior, attitude, knowledge or awareness that is manifested, within the community health worker or researcher, as a result of or outcome from a faculty led, community service learning activity or experience as part of a student’s academic program of study in higher learning. Higher education, through civic engagement and community service learning, must combine efforts with local and regional communities to help eradicate health disparity, eliminate health vulnerability, optimize healthy life style, promote intergenerational and cyclical health and wellness and maximize health care access to the undeserved and uninsured. All these aspects of community health work are dealt with by contributions from scholars and practioners involved in the community health movement. Contributors include Professors Richard Schmuck, Joseph Martin Stevenson, Ricky Boggan, Chris Ann Arthur, John J. Green and Dr D.Melissa Phillip