Data_Sheet_2_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.

每年在美国，超过五万人因阿片类药物过量而死亡，导致了一场被称为“阿片类药物危机”的公共卫生事件。这一现象在阿拉巴马州等整体药物使用和过量死亡比率较高的州尤为引人关注。因此，对于阿拉巴马州的大学学生来说，了解阿片类药物危机如何影响他们的社区变得日益重要。先前的研究表明，通过参与以服务学习为导向的创新主动学习教学法，如服务学习，可以提高非专业学生对当代社会问题的理解和意识。尽管服务学习在教育教学方面具有巨大的潜力，但针对阿片类药物相关的服务学习，尤其是对非专业学生的研究，仍然鲜有涉猎。在本研究中，我们描述了一项以阿片类药物成瘾为中心的服务学习模块的实施情况。非专业生物课程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、医生和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的主题分析显示，学生在反思后但非反思前报告了10个类别（论文收获），反思前后（中性）和反思前但非反思后（论文损失）。我们发现，学生在人性化和文化背景意识方面的论文收获，以及表明非专业学生对这些问题认识不足的论文损失。八次一对一、半结构化访谈揭示了学生个人受到疫情的影响，并重视其在课程中的融入。我们的数据支持了服务学习可以增强非专业生物学学生对阿片类药物危机的意识及其背景理解，从而促进对其在公众中提高认知所必需的倡导活动。