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Through a new virtual learning program, Johns Hopkins University students and staff are sharing information about the novel coronavirus with school children.
Galiatsatos also works with Medicine for the common good, a hospital initiative that promotes good health and wellness practices in underprivileged communities. (Photo courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine)Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, a pulmonary and intensive care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine, started the program to teach K-12 students about the science of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and how to protect themselves and others. The project grew throughout the university with input from the schools of education and public health.
“This innovative teaching series is an outgrowth of the community engagement Panagis leads as part of the NIEHS-supported Centers of Excellence in Environmental Health Disparities Research,” said Liam O’Fallon, institute health specialist. “Given their center’s research on respiratory diseases and the environment and their strong community engagement efforts, they were able to respond quickly to the pandemic.”
Under the auspices of Johns Hopkins HEAT Body (Health Education and Training) and with the help of trained volunteer instructors, the COVID-19 teaching series is expanding in the US and internationally.
Learning about COVID-19
Baltimore teachers, struggling with the coronavirus issue, reached out to Galiatsatos because he had previously taught their students about lung health and air pollution. He took on the challenge of developing a clear way to explain COVID-19 to students.
Each COVID-19 educational session lasts approximately 30 minutes and is taught live by a trained instructor. Student worksheets and other class materials are provided prior to the session.“The students want to know more about the disease and they want to help others,” Galiatsatos said. “We want to help students, who may feel vulnerable and scared, to find hope and a sense of control.”
The curriculum covers many facets of COVID-19, such as its biology, mathematical models of a pandemic, the physics behind how a face mask works, and the chemistry of hand washing and sanitizer use. There are 12 different conferences. With humor and attention-grabbing details, young people are also told how they can make a difference through physical distancing, wearing masks, and hand washing.
The true first line of defense
“I am a lung doctor who has been treating COVID-19 patients, and I think that calling healthcare workers to the front line is a misnomer,” Galiatsatos said. “I tell students, who want to help protect others from the virus, that they are the first line of defense. Doctors like me are really the last line of defense. “
Teaching from afar
Volunteer instructors range from college students to resident physicians at Johns Hopkins University. So far this year, about 90 people have been trained to teach the COVID-19 curriculum.
After enrolling in the program, schools schedule a conference for a date and time through a special portal. Then a match is made with an instructor who is available.
The COVID-19 teaching series was requested in 24 states, from Hawaii to New York, and in five countries, including Cypress, Guatemala, Ghana, Panama and Tanzania.
Caring for the community
Comments received by Johns Hopkins HEAT Corps indicate that while the pandemic disrupts education in the US and other countries, a program like this is unifying. One teacher said her fifth graders felt much better after listening to the instructor and having the opportunity to ask questions. She added that offering the series of teachings is a true demonstration of caring for a community.
(Carol Kelly is a managing editor in the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison.)
