With support from Duke Service-Learning, the Social Science Research Institute piloted it's first course "Evaluating Health Innovation" in partnership with the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI). The community-based course incorporated a dual focus on 1) methods and practices in social science research, including community-based and applied practice; and 2) substantive issues related to the partner, including: healthcare as a cause and consequences of social problems, evolution of healthcare financing and administration, and innovation’s role in solving healthcare challenges.
The course gave students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they gained through project-based evaluation consulting work with the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI). At the end of the semester, students presented an applied research/evaluation project proposal to the partner organization.
“Professional,” “polished narrative,” “compelling" were the words used by the community partners to describe the student proposals, which were based on research interviews students conducted with their partners at the beginning of the semester.
Professor Sperling reported that student feedback regarding the pilot semester was overwhelmingly positive and that students found the course to be both unique and engaging, as well as valuable to their personal and professional development. In particular, students seemed to appreciate the unique and engaging format of the course. Here are a few student reflections:
“Being able to apply the methods we learned made me much more engaged in class and able to remember the techniques we learned since I directly applied them to my evaluation project. Furthermore, partnering with real DIHI project teams made the proposal we did as part of the class more high-pressure but significantly more meaningful than if it was modeled after a simulation or project prompt.”
“Having an impact on something of this magnitude was a unique and new experience that is rare at an undergraduate level.”
“There are not many other courses where the lab component and group project have a purpose outside of only being graded to show a student’s knowledge of content. It is validating to know that the work we were doing is helpful and can be used by others.”
A phase 2 of the work is under discussion.
