In an effort to track the impact of the Youth Public Health Ambassador Program on the participating youth and their communities, GRIT Lab researchers prepared pre- and post- surveys of knowledge and attitudes regarding a range of potential outcomes of the program including knowledge of public health topics, public speaking skills, self confidence, and the belief that youth can make a difference in their communities.
The surveys were administered at all three YPHA workshops. Based on the results, adjustments were made to the training materials and additional resources were provided to the YPHAs.
Key results and messages from evaluation of the YPHA program included:
- Assessments revealed youth knew the most about WASH and risky behaviors and the least about mental and environmental health at baseline
- YPHA knowledge increased in all public health focus areas after training
- Despite training, myths pertaining to person-to-person spread of disease persisted, especially regarding HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
- Engaging youth as active and equal partners in research allows them to identify and investigate issues of concern in their own communities