PHAST Projects

PHAST programming takes the form of training, projects, community service, and social events. Activities completed by students this year are described below.

Training
Orientation	Student new to the Public Health Action Support Team received training from the Ginsberg Center focused on community engagement and entering and exiting communities. Additionally, they also participated in a qualitative data analysis training conducted by the Program Evaluation Group (PEG).
Advocacy and Policy Training	Training with the organization, Healthy Democracy, Healthy People.
Coalition Building Training	Training with Office of Multi Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA).
Washtenaw County Health Department (WCHD) Tour	Tour of WCHD and emergency preparedness exercise simulation.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Community Health Emergency Coordination Center (CHECC) and State Lab Tour	Tour offering students an in-depth look at state-level public health emergency preparedness and response including an overview of the National Incident Management System, MDHHS coordination with local health departments, and a live Lab-Epi call. Students also tour the CHECC facility and engage in a discussion-based simulation exercise to apply emergency response principles in real time.
Projects
Public Health Student Assembly Town Hall Focus Group Initiative	The Public Health Student Assembly (PHSA) requested assistance with implementing their winter semester town hall with focus groups and a quantitative survey. Students supported focus group facilitation and thematic analysis for the report.
Michigan Medicine: The HEAT Study	The HEAT study (led by PIs Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr. Melissa Elafros in Neurology) sought student volunteers to assist with administering surveys in Flint clinics. This project involved quantitative surveys with approximately 150 patients and 50 caregivers to identify barriers to Alzheimer’s diagnosis and treatment. Work took place at Hurley Medical Center, McLaren Flint, and the McFarlan Home.
WCHD: Sexual/Reproductive Health Projects	Students partnered with the Washtenaw County Health Department (WCHD) to support a range of sexual and reproductive health communication projects. One student developed an educational handout for Depo-Provera patients, focusing on bone health and prevention strategies. Another student updated a set of safe sex information sheets with current guidelines and made them accessible in both print and digital formats. A third student contributed to WCHD’s “Beyond Just Condoms” social media campaign by creating content and applying best practices in digital health communication to promote STI prevention and reduce stigma.
HDHP: We Will Vote Campaign	Public health and healthcare professionals historically have low voter turnout rates. Healthy Democracy, Healthy People (HDHP) aims to change this through education and engagement. PHAST students supported the initiative by creating social media graphics from the HDHP toolkit and speaking to their peers in class to promote civic participation.
Community Service
CFLC: Food Boxing/Distribution & Youth Enrichment Program	PHAST students supported the Community Family Life Center (CFLC) through two initiatives: the youth enrichment program and food distribution efforts. In the youth program, students provided homework help and led skill-building activities. For food distribution, they assisted with sorting, packing, and delivering food boxes, as well as stocking shelves and preparing pantry items for community members.
Habitat for Humanity: West Willow Neighborhood Beautification Day	PHAST students joined West Willow residents in beautification efforts, including garden work, organizing community spaces, raking leaves for seniors, litter pickup, and storm drain cleanout.
Social Events
PHAST Returning Member Meeting	Returning PHAST members came together for a social event to kick-off the new academic year. They created vision boards and brainstormed for the year ahead in PHAST.
PHAST-Giving	PHAST members came together for “PHAST-giving” which is a play off of “Friendsgiving”. It was a time for fun, laughter, and community.
End-of-Year Celebration	The End-of-Year Celebration was tied into the SPH Graduation Kick-Off event this year. Graduating PHAST students were recognized for their contributions through certificates and service cords.

Past Projects:

• Community Family Life Center: The Community Family Life Center neighborhood-based, non-profit organization that serves as a hub for the Sugarbrook Neighborhood and the greater Ypsilanti area. Our students worked to develop a volunteer toolkit and curriculum for the afterschool program.
• Children's Literacy Network: The Children's Literacy Network (CLN) is volunteer-based nonprofit agency that was founded in 1991 by a group of educators dedicated to promoting the benefits of literacy. PHAST began partnering with CLN in November 2018 to evaluate the Staying in Closer Touch (SiCT) program. 
• Healthy Dearborn Coalition: The Healthy Dearborn Coalition (HDC) is a partnership between Beaumont Health, City of Dearborn, and Dearborn Public Schools to use a community approach to create a culture of health in Dearborn through active living and healthy eating strategies. Our students worked with HDC to review existing equity tools and create the collective vision for the tool.
• Northfield's Human Services: Northfield's Human Services (NHS) provides social services, including, but not limited to, access to health care, food, and transportation, or assistance with access to these services, in an empowering and respectful way to the residents of Northfield Township and the greater Whitmore Lake area who face challenges due to low income, older age, disabilities, or other special needs and disadvantages. Our students worked with NHS to create a communication plan to provide recommendations on improving the visibility of their services to community members of Northfield Township and the greater Whitmore Lake area.