First published on October 7, 2019 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

Advocacy is as important in public health as data analyses and needs’ assessments.

But students have traditionally lacked advocacy experience.

In 2018, Dr. Karen Liller, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) professor specializing in injury prevention and health education, decided to remedy that situation by starting the Activist Lab at the COPH.

The group, which is run with the help of two research assistants and a six-student advisory board made up of graduate and undergraduate students, provides interdisciplinary advocacy, education, research and service opportunities for students to develop the skills that will promote their success as effective public health advocates and leaders.

The Activist Lab, directed by Liller, is the second such lab in the country, with the first being at Boston University’s School of Public Health.

Liller says she had been wanting to start a program like the Activist Lab at the COPH for a while, to compliment the Doctoral Student Leadership Institute she began as dean of the USF Graduate School, now known as the Office of Graduate Studies.

“I strongly believed students needed much more preparation in leadership and advocacy skills before they graduated,” Liller commented.

In just one year of its existence, hundreds of students have taken part in the Activist Lab’s educational and service opportunities, which include activism boot camps, seminars, guest speakers, journal clubs, writing groups, research efforts and public health in a minute videos. These videos—only 60 seconds long—have featured faculty and community leaders discussing pertinent public health issues, everything from the importance of voting to refugee health.

According to Liller, some of the Activist Lab’s first-year highlights include:

• work with Dr. Mark Roberts and other University of Pittsburgh researchers on a measles simulator for Florida (called FRED Florida Measles Simulator), which shows how cases of the viral infection can grow in an area with just a 10 percent drop in immunizations
• a gun violence prevention and advocacy seminar, held in partnership with USF Health and led by Parkland shooting survivors David Hogg and Emma González

Things won’t slow down for the Activist Lab anytime soon. In addition to the continuation of seminars, speakers and learning opportunities, the organization has the following things planned for the future:

• a boot camp on the prevention of firearm violence, scheduled for January
• a new program called “More Opportunities to Use Learned Advocacy” (MOULA), where students work with particular agencies, such as Moms Demand Action and the Guardian ad Litem program, on advocacy issues
• the launch of a new podcast series called “Advocation—Change It Up!” The first podcast features Dr. Jill Roberts, a COPH alumna and assistant professor of global health, discussing the importance of immunizations.
• an oral presentation on activism, to be delivered at the 2019 American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting in November

The Activist Lab serves as an exciting hub of learning and action for students to become directly involved in practicing leadership and advocacy skills, says Liller, who sees the lab’s numbers growing and its reach expanding beyond the college and university to the state, nation and world. 

“For example, with our podcast new persons will be reached and advocacy skills can be expanded and practiced,” remarked Liller. “Students can become part of our advisory board and really help shape the direction of the lab. They can participate in all of our events, and as we grow more and more opportunities will become available.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post Teaching advocacy via the Activist Lab appeared first on College of Public Health News.

The USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) Activist Lab serves as a “hub of excellence in providing interdisciplinary advocacy, education, research and service opportunities for students…,” reports the group’s website. 

An important component of the Activist Lab is its MOULA program. MOULA, which stands for More Opportunities to Use Learned Advocacy, is a partnership between the Activist Lab and community organizations and agencies working on public health issues.

“I started MOULA within the Activist Lab so students would be able to work directly with agencies and organizations to get real ‘boots on the ground’ experience and skill-building in advocacy and leadership,” said Dr. Karen Liller, director of the Activist Lab and a COPH professor.  “Agencies and organizations put forth projects and issues they would like assistance with, including needs for advocacy. Students apply to work with the particular agency, and their selection is based on the quality and depth of the responses they write to the particular issues presented.”

Organizations such as the Ybor Youth Clinic, which promotes sexual health education for minors; the 13th Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program, which advocates for the interests of abused, neglected and abandoned children in Hillsborough County, including those who are victims of human trafficking; and Moms Demand Action, Tampa Bay, a group that works for safe gun storage, are several of the programs that approached the Activist Lab with their needs. 

This last academic year Kayla Wilson, who worked with the guardian ad litem project, was the only student funded. While the students do not receive academic credit for their advocacy work, they are reimbursed for travel expenses and supplies, up to $500. Working in the MOULA program can also satisfy the Applied Practice Experience for students pursuing their MPH degree at the college. “Students can use what they learn to further build their program planning, outreach, and research skills,” added Liller, who recently published an article on the Activist Lab and the MOULA program in the journal Health Promotion Practice.

Wilson, now a second-year MPH student concentrating in epidemiology, says she got involved in the MOULA program to increase her advocacy skills. “Before starting my MPH degree, I didn’t have much public health experience. The MOULA program has really helped me transition into the field.”

As part of her guardian ad litem work, Wilson went to child trafficking court with Michelle Blume, the county’s guardian ad litem assistant circuit director. She researched services for children in the program, who are now in the court’s care, and also helped develop a presentation for volunteers, which ultimately had to be put on hold because of COVID-19. Wilson was so passionate about the program that she even became a guardian ad litem for one of the children with whom she worked. “I check in at least once a month and make sure everything is going well with the child’s current placement,” she said. “I’m also present in court and give recommendations based on the needs of my child. In my case, the child is young, so the needs aren’t great. But if something like new glasses or tutoring was required, then I would relay that to the court to make sure that need is met.”

Wilson says she found her “passion” working for the guardian ad litem program and hopes to continue volunteering with them after graduation. 

“It’s sad that some children do not have someone advocating for them,” said Wilson. “This project has really opened my eyes to how much human trafficking activity there is just in the state of Florida. Working with the guardian ad litem program has been such a rewarding experience.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post Activist Lab’s MOULA program provides “boots on the ground” public health training appeared first on College of Public Health News.