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LHU students, faculty, staff to present at PA Community and Public Health Annual Conference

Lock Haven, PA (02/24/2022) — Three abstracts, written by Lock Haven University faculty, staff and students, have been accepted for oral presentations at the 2022 Pennsylvania Community and Public Health Annual Conference in March. This year's conference theme is "Sustaining Public Health in Pennsylvania Through Best Practices and Community-based Initiatives."

The conference is offered by the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, the Penn State College of Medicine's Public Health Program, the Society for Public Health Education-Pennsylvania Chapter and the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network.

The first abstract, "Community-based Mitigation Strategies of COVID-19 on a University Campus," was written by Jessica Abernathy, LHU COVID-19 Institutional Response Team (IRT) coordinator; Christina McMahon, criminal justice major; Megan Wein, health science major; Billie Jo Bollinger, health science major; and Beth McMahon, emerita professor and FDA commissioned officer. Additionally, all authors are members of LHU's COVID Institutional Response Team and have earned Johns Hopkins Case Investigation and Contact Tracer certificates.

The abstract details the robust behavior-based prevention strategy LHU implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This strategy includes the development of the COVID-19 IRT, educational campaigns, vaccine challenges, faculty and student community based participatory action research, engagement of hundreds of students in COVID mitigation efforts, institution of low-density student housing, COVID-19 universal testing, rapid detection, case investigation, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine strategies. These efforts awarded LHU the 2021 Pennsylvania Rural Health Program of the Year award by the PA Office of Rural Health.

The second abstract, "Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors Regarding Masks in a Rural Collegiate Setting," was authored by Jennifer Rudella, associate professor of health science; Leah Reed, health science major; and Sara Rowles, health and physical education major.

The study reports students' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors (KAB) through a survey about masks in the spring 2021 semester.

"Working collaboratively with the Centers for Disease Control on this study has been an amazing experience," Rudella said. "We used the data collected from the Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors survey to educate and promote mask adherence at LHU. Leah and Sarah have been instrumental as well in analyzing the data and helping us to connect with LHU students."

The final abstract, "Community Perceptions of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy," was authored by Monika Yerke, clinical mental health counseling graduate student; Tara Mitchell, professor of psychology; and Christina McMahon, criminal justice major.

The study analyzed responses to a survey distributed at River Valley Dental and Health in Williamsport to patients arriving for a COVID vaccine. Respondents were asked questions related to their own vaccine hesitation and their perceptions of vaccine hesitation. The results suggested that demographics predicted perceived hesitance in others, not personal hesitancy.

"One of the wonderful things about Lock Haven is being able to work with our students on projects that highlight rural communities like ours," Mitchell said. "I'm excited by the work that students like Monika and Christina have been doing to benefit our local communities!"

The conference will be held on March 29 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College.