Epidemiology

Grant Proposal

Abstract

Approximately 150-200 people per year die from meningitis.  To date 353 people have died as a result of SARS.  Despite the fact that hepatitis B has a preventative vaccine, an estimated 300,000 people are infected with this virus each year in the United States.  Can anything be done to save the lives of thousands of unsuspecting men, women, and children?  This is the driving question that lays the foundation for our project "Epidemiology."  We have designed an interdisciplinary project that helps students connect mathematics and science to create a plan of action for addressing these real-world problems. 

While the media tends to publicize only the most dangerous and deadly diseases, every one has had personal experience dealing with common contagious diseases such as the chicken pox, strep throat, and influenza.  High school teachers know better than anyone that their working environment is a breeding ground for diseases, making it the opportune place to study the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations.  Students will collect samples from around their own school in order to analyze the diseases that they unknowingly come into contact with every day.  In addition, students will investigate how to prevent diseases from being spread throughout the school as well as how to treat diseases once an epidemic has broken out. 

Since diseases affect us all, the faculty, staff, student body, as well as school health officials and members of the community will be invited to a health awareness night in which students will inform the public about their findings and present a plan of action to deal with the humanitarian concerns.

Description

In this unit, students will investigate all aspects of the spread of disease.  They will learn the difference between fungi, bacteria and viruses and how to distinguish between them.  The spread of disease is explored through computer simulations and classroom activities, such as the pipe cleaner activity in which students will make and model a virus.  Students learn about practices they can implement to help prevent bacteria from infecting their communities. During the unit, transmission of disease is discussed and the students do an activity through shaking hands that shows how physical contact can spread disease. Lessons will involve math by evaluating the growth rate, population size and other statistics looking at exponential and logarithmic patterns in the spread of disease.  In addition, the students will all collect a sample from around the school with a swab and then plate it on a petri dish. After incubation, students will collect data and make observations.  The results will be analyzed and discussed as a class.  A major focus of the unit will involve a group project in which students will be allowed to pick a topic of their choice and develop an in-depth study of the subject matter keeping within the area of disease. The students will do research to find out more about disease using online literature searches. At the end of the project, students will present their results and findings to the community, students, health officials and faculty to bring awareness of and find ways we can reduce the spread of disease.

Rationale

How many times per day do you touch a door handle? How many times per day do you use a public bathroom? There are millions of bacteria on any given object and these bacteria are passed around as easily as shaking hands with someone or flushing the toilet. With the recent threats caused by influenza, meningitis, and SARS, the spread of disease has become a worldwide concern. In January/February 2004 the University Health Services at the University of Texas gave out free influenza shots to all students and faculty. This clearly states the severity of the spread of influenza throughout the university campus as well as the community.

In this project students will collect bacterial samples from around their own schools. The diseases collected from their own environment will help students grasp the importance of preventing the spread of disease. The results discovered by the students will be shared with local health administrators in order to address the problem of disease spreading throughout their schools. Students will meet with health officials in order to come up with a plan of action to promote awareness of disease and to promote other forms of disease prevention with ultimate goal being a healthy school environment.

Potential Impact

            The goal of our Disease project is for students to gather bacteria samples, interpret the results, and prepare and present a presentation discussing the findings with District Health Officials, parents, and other school members.  Students will benefit from the project because they will have increased awareness on the amount of bacteria they are exposed to, and more importantly they will learn they have the power to impact the community, which can lead to positive change.  This project will not be confined to one classroom.  A website will be created by students that will expose other students from surrounding areas to what they are doing and how their plan of action is affecting their community.  There is no way of knowing exactly how many people will be impacted but the potential number is great. 

Evaluation Plan

         The main goal in our Disease Unit is to raise community and student awareness of the over abundance of bacteria and disease which exist in schools.  Students will be exposed to a series of lessons throughout the unit that will teach them about bacteria which cause disease.  Near the end of the unit, the students will have increased knowledge of the differing aspects of bacteria and the diseases they may cause.  The final goal of the unit is to have students perform field work throughout their schools.  The students will explore different areas of the school and collect bacteria samples.  Once thorough collections have been made, the students will grow the bacteria cultures and interpret the results in order to identify the different diseases cause by these bacteria.  Students will present these frightening results to different audiences such as District Health Officials, parents, and school members.  We will know that we are achieving this goal when we see that awareness is increased throughout the community.  Students and other community members will be taking extra steps to create a cleaner environment, which will therefore decrease amount of sickness.  Progress of this goal will be measured by grades of quizzes and homework that are given through the unit, and also by the response seen be students and other community members based on the final project and presentation. 

Calendar

Budget