Laura Ekezie

Measuring the Impact of Coronavirus among Students at a Historically Black College University (HBCU) in a Rural Area Laura Ekezie

Mentor: Andrea McDonald Department of Health and Kinesiology

Introduction: Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on students and the educational system. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), more than 150 countries have closed their schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, all schools, colleges, and universities were closed to allow for social distancing. This has caused a significant disruption among college and universities' ability to deliver teaching materials to the students. Many institutions had to cancel their in-person classes and moved them to online-only instruction. This unexpected event has placed some challenges on the students and institutions to accommodate the effective delivery of teaching materials. Most instructors are forced to communicate with their students via an online learning management system. The project's overall goal is to understand the impact of COVID-19 on academic achievement among students attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located in rural Texas. Materials and Methods: This proposed study will be conducted at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), located in Waller County, Texas. The research team will recruit male and female college students through a combination of flyers, social media (Twitter, Instagram), and purposeful sampling. To be eligible, participants must meet the following criteria: 1) be a registered student at a Prairie View A&M University and attending before COVID-19, and 2) be at least 18 years old and pursuing a degree in any major. Then eligible participants will be asked to create a video with their reflections of COVID-19. The participants also will be invited afterward to participate in a one-hour one-on-one interview session via an online platform (WebEx or Zoom). We anticipate analyzing the qualitative data (interview) using ATLAS TI and guided by Grounded theory and the phenomenological approach. Results and Discussion: The study is still ongoing, and results will be available soon.

References:

1. Higher education retrieved May 30, 2020. https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/highereducation-responses-to-coronavirus- covid-19.aspx. 2. Krug EG, Mercy JA, Dahlberg LL, Zwi AB. The world report on violence and health. The lancet. 2002;360(9339):1083-1088. 3. Pink, G.H. (2018). Statement by George H. Pink before the Committee on Finance U.S. Senate. N.C. Rural Health Research Program. Retrieved from https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/24MAY2018PinkSTMNT.pdf

Awardee and Student:

Dr. Andrea McDonald is an Assistant professor at Prairie View A&M University in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. Her research focused on food preparation literacy, health disparities, school health and Nutrition in the Caribbean, COVID-19, and the Digital divide in schools.

Laura Ekezie is a Junior undergraduate student majoring in Nutrition and minor in Health Education. She plans to pursue a master's degree and become a Registered Dietitian in the future.

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