Data_Sheet_1_Championing awareness of the opioid epidemic through a service-learning module for non-STEM biology majors.pdf

Over 50,000 people die annually from opioid overdoses in the United States leading to what has become known as the “opioid epidemic.” This is of heightened concern in states like Alabama that experience higher rates of overall drug use and overdose deaths. Thus, it is increasingly important for college students in Alabama to learn about how the opioid epidemic is affecting their communities. Previous studies have demonstrated that engaging non-majors in innovative active-learning oriented pedagogies like service-learning can enhance their understanding and awareness about contemporary societal issues. Despite its pedagogical potential, the impact of opioid-related service-learning, particularly for non-majors, continues to remain unexplored. In this study, we describe the implementation of a service-learning module centered on opioid addiction. Students in a non-major biology course learned the science behind opioids, had Naloxone training, and engaged in active discussions with an opioid researcher, physician, and former illicit opioid user. Our assessment of the thematic analysis of pre- and post-reflection free-write data from 87 consenting students revealed 10 categories that students reported in the post- but not pre-reflections (essay gain), pre- and post-reflections (neutral), and pre- but not post-reflections (essay loss). We found essay gains in students humanizing addiction and awareness of the cultural context of opioid addiction and essay losses from students indicating that non-major students had a low level of awareness related to these issues. Eight one-on-one, semi-structured interviews revealed that students were personally impacted by the epidemic and valued its curricular inclusion. Our data supports that service-learning can increase non-major biology student’s awareness and contextual understanding about the opioid epidemic, enabling much-needed advocacy to further enhance its awareness among the public.

在美国，每年有超过50,000人因阿片类药物过量而死亡，导致了一场被称为“阿片类药物流行病”的危机。在阿拉巴马等整体药物使用和过量死亡比率较高的州，这一问题尤为严重。因此，对于阿拉巴马的大学生来说，了解阿片类药物流行病如何影响他们的社区变得越来越重要。先前的研究表明，通过引入如服务学习等创新性主动学习导向的教学方法，可以增强非专业学生对于当代社会问题的理解和认识。尽管服务学习在教学方法上具有潜在的益处，但阿片类药物相关服务学习对非专业学生的具体影响仍鲜有研究。在本研究中，我们描述了一个以阿片类药物成瘾为中心的服务学习模块的实施情况。在非专业生物学课程中的学生学习了阿片类药物的科学原理，接受了纳洛酮培训，并与阿片类药物研究者、医生以及前非法阿片类药物使用者进行了积极的讨论。我们对87名同意参与的学生在反思前后的自由写作数据进行了主题分析，揭示了学生在反思后而非反思前报告的10个类别（论文收益）、反思前后的中性类别以及反思前而非反思后的类别（论文损失）。我们发现，学生在论文中对于人性化成瘾以及阿片类药物成瘾的文化背景的认识有所提升，而论文损失则反映了学生在这些问题上意识水平较低。通过8次一对一的半结构化访谈，我们发现学生个人深受流行病的影响，并重视其在课程中的纳入。我们的数据表明，服务学习可以提升非专业生物学学生对阿片类药物流行病的意识及其背景理解，从而为公众所需的倡导工作提供了必要的基础。