Florida Atlantic University Professor Takes Students to the Cherokee Nation to Teach Health

For the last four years, John Lowe has taken his senior nursing students at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to the Cherokee Nation in northeastern Oklahoma. About 50 students went on the trip last month, teaching health classes at schools and at the Healthy Nations Summer camp. Many of the associate nursing professor's students -- who live with the children, teaching nutrition, diabetes and tobacco prevention -- come from Haiti, Latin America or India.

Studies show American Indians are more likely to use illegal drugs and contract HIV and, according to the National Institutes of Health, are twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites.

While on the reservation, FAU students and children are organized into clans, each with a name chosen by the children that reflects their heritage. The students spoke about sex education with high school students at Oaks Mission School and also brought condoms, which some students might have a hard time accessing.

"They have a clinic they can go to, but one girl said her mom worked there," said Nicole Jennings, a student from Boynton Beach. "Puberty is a very confusing time for them."

The nursing school project is a great resource for the kids and their families, said Margie Burkhart, health promotion and disease prevention coordinator for the summer camp. "Because they come as a group, that means our campers receive lots of individual attention," she said. "This lends a perfect opportunity for the nurses to impart their knowledge of health topics and reinforce healthy lifestyle messages on a one-on-one basis with our campers."

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