The Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA) is an innovative “pathways to careers” concept in Flint, yet the program domains within the FPHYA are not new. The program is designed to engage and introduce urban youth into careers in public health, medicine and research. The FPHYA focuses on early exposure, mentoring/role modeling, and interactive engagement (internships, summer camps, and youth-led projects). There are several modalities of the FPHYA ranging from semester sessions, quarterly sessions, and summer camps. The FPHYA consists of three domains: 1) youth community assessment (using the photo voice methodology), 2) learning academy (a series of didactic interactive learning sessions), and 3) advocacy/policy training.
Community Assessment: In the community assessment domain, the previous programs and projects that will be used to build and strengthen this domain are youth-focused community dialogues and youth photo voice projects. These assessment activities are designed to give the students a broader perspective of community needs, community assets and community deficits. This process will allow students the opportunity to identify solutions and create community-level implementation plans and recommendations. In addition, youth in the FPHYA will use these methods to assess their community condition as it relates to the Flint Water Crisis and other issues they deem important. This domain built from the years of experience of various youth photovoice projects and community dialogues conducted in Flint.
Learning Academy: In the learning academy domain, youth will participate in interactive didactic learning sessions covering a broad range of subjects that include: Introduction to Public Health; Social Determinants of Health, Community Health, Health Policy, Health Equity, Careers in Medicine and Dentistry, Introduction to Research, Quantitative and Qualitative Methods, Environmental Health and Epigenetics to name a few. In addition, local public health and medical professionals will facilitate the sessions to create relationships and mentorship opportunities.
In the Policy and Advocacy domain, youth will learn the fundamentals of advocacy, activism and policy reform. Concepts and competencies will be lifted from the past KidSpeak and Community Policy training programs. Youth will be trained in, and examine, Genesee County’s Health Equity in All Policies. They will create dissemination and training programs for other youth around this policy. In addition, the youth will learn how a Flint youth group wass instrumental in the passing of Tobacco 21 that was passed by the Genesee County Commissioners in July of 2017.
The Big Picture Goal:
The overall arching goal of the FPHYA, is to contribute to a multi-layered strategy to addressing racial and ethnic health disparities through the increase of public health and medical professionals of color.
Program goals for the FPHYA are as follows:
To increase African American and other minority representation in the fields of public health, medicine, and research
To create an effective pathway to careers in public health, medicine, and research for Flint youth.
To reduce and ultimately eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities by increasing the number of African American and other minority public health professionals, medical professionals, and researchers.
Benefits of the FPHYA
Early Exposure to Careers in Public Health, Medicine and Research
Engagement in STEM related activities
Exposure to local Public Health, Medical and Research Mentors
Participation on Youth-Led research and programming
A Pathway for Higher Education and Career Attainment
FPHYA’s Accomplishments to date:
Facilitated 7 Youth Community Dialogues
Conducted 3 PhotoVoice Community Assessment Projects
Hosted the “Youth Perspective” Virtual Talk show with over 80 episodes and counting www.facebook.com/FPHYA or FPHYA 810 - YouTube
Hosted 3 Annual Youth Public Health Summer Camps
Conducted 3 Health Messaging Campaigns
Provided programming (in-person and virtual) to over 2,000 youth since 2019
Facilitated over 15 youth peer-to-peer education sessions
Conducted two presentations at the 150th American Public Health Associatoin Annual Meeting in Boston, MA in 2022
Presented at the Amputee Coalition Youth Empowerment Luncheon in Chicago, Ill in 2023 to Limb Loss and Limb Difference youth
