Category: COVID-19

GW Students Help D.C. Children Learn Social Justice

Briahnna BrownLeave a comment

Through the SummerTrek Changemakers program, 10 GW students helped D.C. middle school students turn the issues they are passionate about into virtual advocacy campaigns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted most activities to the virtual space, and for many George Washington University students, that includes volunteer work with children.

Nikki Vivekanandan, a junior studying nutrition science in the Milken Institute School of Public Health, previously volunteered with GWTeach, a STEM education program. When she learned about an opportunity to safely continue volunteering with kids this summer, Ms. Vivekanandan said she was excited to take advantage of it.

Through a partnership with Alice Deal Middle School, the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service was able to offer GW students the opportunity to support D.C. children interested in addressing community issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, racism and climate change. In the SummerTrek Changemakers Program, students like Ms. Vivekanandan were able to facilitate the middle schoolers’ research and advocacy projects throughout July with virtual Zoom sessions twice a week.

Ms. Vivekanandan said that because the pandemic has hit everyone in different ways, she wanted to work with kids who were interested in social changemaking around the pandemic.

See full story:
GW Today.

Q & A: How Does COVID-19 Highlight Health Disparities?

Briahnna BrownLeave a comment

Milken Institute SPH researcher Wendy Ellis discussed how the coronavirus pandemic impacts people differently along race and poverty lines.

About one third of people hospitalized from COVID-19 in March were African American, according to recent data from the Centers from Disease Control, despite making up only 18 percent of the population in the U.S. areas studied.

While the available data offers only a glimpse at the developing situation, the apparent racial and economic disparities are significant. Wendy Ellis, Dr.P.H. ’19, director of the Building Community Resilience Collaborative and Networks at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, has designed and implemented a strategic approach aimed at understanding and addressing these disparities.

The disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic have brought to light are not a result of the virus but a reflection of systemic issues in the United States, Dr. Ellis said. She spoke with GW Today to explain how these health disparities have come to light:

See full story:
GW Today.

Q & A: Talking to Kids about COVID-19

Briahnna BrownLeave a comment

CCAS Professor of Psychology Cynthia Rohrbeck shared some tips on the best approaches to discussing the global pandemic with children.

In times of uncertainty, it can be difficult to discuss some topics with children, and the coronavirus pandemic is more than uncertainty—the public health crisis is one that children and their parents have not seen before.

Children and teens may struggle with making sense of everything happening in the world, especially as their lives have to adjust to social distancing guidelines such as school closures and transitions to online learning.

That is why it is important for parents, caretakers and those with younger siblings to be prepared to initiate discussions about the virus and its impact in a way that reassures the children in their lives, said Cynthia Rohrbeck, a professor of psychology in the George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Dr. Rohrbeck, whose research focuses on child stress and coping, spoke with GW Today about the best way to approach discussions with children about COVID-19:

See full story:
GW Today.