title: EpiAssist: Service-learning in public health education.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although public health degree programs typically require practica and other field experiences, service-learning courses, with a focus on civic engagement and the application of classroom learning in real world settings, can go beyond these requirements and provide benefits to students and community-based practice partners. The goal of this paper is to assess potential benefits of service-learning programs for both graduate-level public health students and state and local public health agency partners.
  
  
  METHODS
  EpiAssist is a new service-learning program developed at the School of Public Health of the Texas A and M University Health Science Center, USA, in January 2015. EpiAssist was integrated into a new course, Methods in Field Epidemiology. The integration of service-learning was guided by a partnership with the Texas A and M Center for Teaching Excellence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  State, regional, and local public health partners requested EpiAssist via email or telephone. A listserv was used to recruit student volunteers to meet requests. 54 of 86 registered EpiAssist students (63%) participated in at least one of ten service-learning and three training activities between January and June, 2015. Service-learning activities included questionnaire development, in-person and telephone data collection, and data analysis. Training topics for students included the Epi Info™ software, community assessment and communicable disease reporting. Students and partner organizations provided generally positive assessments of this service learning program through an online evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Service-learning provides students with enhanced classroom learning through applied public health experience in state, regional and local health departments. These experiences provide both needed surge capacity to public health departments and valuable hands-on field experience to students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A and M University Health Science Center School of Public Health, College Station, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Horney
authors.forename: Sanjana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bamrara
authors.forename: Maria Lazo
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Macik
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shehane
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building / Q000379:methods; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D004500:Education, Graduate / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D004813:Epidemiology / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D013781:Texas; D000078329:Workforce