| Authors: | Hannah Berko OMS-II, Rhea Verma OMS-II, Rhett Layton OMS-II, Quinton Laudadio OMS-II, Mary Olivia Smith OMS-III, Sireen Hilo OMS-III, Aftab Khan OMS-III, Gregory Jacobs DO |
| Background: | Ark Dothan is a local 12-month rehabilitation program for individuals overcoming addiction, homelessness, or previous incarceration. Our goal is to improve health literacy within this at-risk population through monthly health seminars. |
| Methods: | This longitudinal study evaluates knowledge and health literacy retention by repeating last year’s sun, heat, and water safety seminar. We discussed prevention and associated risks of riptides, heat illnesses, and skin damage. Pre- and post-surveys consisting of five questions were administered. Pre-surveys included prior attendance and retention questions. Surveys utilized a Likert scale, 1 representing “strongly disagree”, and 5 representing “strongly agree”. |
| Results: |
Six of the eight female residents and one of the nine male residents previously attended this seminar. In 2023, the highest knowledge improvements were in objective two, “I can recognize the signs of skin damage and skin cancer” for females (87.88% increase) and objective four, “I know what to do in a heat illness-related emergency,” for males (23.29%). In 2024, improvements were greatest in objective four for females (25.81%) and objective two for males (46.70%). In the female group, objective one, “I understand how to protect my skin against skin damage,” showed a 18.52% increase in 2023 and a 8.11% increase in 2024, suggesting retention of knowledge. |
| Conclusion: |
This seminar demonstrated increased knowledge retention and improved health literacy. Based on high UV indexes and proximity to large bodies of water, repeating seminars in Southeast Alabama allows individuals to be more equipped in preventing fatalities associated with sun, heat, and water. |