Scheduled for Research Coordinating Board Poster Session II, Thursday, April 1, 2004, 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Session


Don't Be the April Fool's Joke! Be STD Smart!

Wendy L. Cowan1, Amy Nance1, Charles Brown2, Dianne Bartley1, Sandra M. Neal1, Cheryl Ellis1 and Rebecca Roth3, (1)Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, (2)Antioch, TN, (3)MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN

The objective of this program is to promote healthier and safer lifestyles by making students aware of the dangers associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Instead of a lecture type setting we are using a tunnel that the student actually tours as an alternative teaching tool. This tunnel incorporates written and verbal information as well as very graphic pictures displaying various body parts infected with a STD. We believe that in this tunnel students can seek information without having to sit in a classroom and feel embarrassed to ask questions. The tunnel allows the students to explore and learn with no pressure to hurry and no cause for embarrassment. Students that explored our tunnel had very good comments about the effect it had on them. The pictures are blown up in size and even the most uninterested student will not be able to pass through the tunnel without gaining some insight into the awful problems associated with STDs. Our health, physical education, recreation and safety department prepared this tunnel and made it available to the entire university and made it mandatory for most of the classes located in our department. The tunnel can be presented in conjunction with various holidays such as Valentines (Tunnel of Love and Pain) or April Fools (Don’t get fooled about STDs). Additionally, this is a project that can be completed in minimal time with proper planning and does not require an extravagant budget.

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