Infectious Disease: Evolving Challenges to Human Health
Rx for Survival: Delivering Goods
Overview of Activity
In this activity, students are given global scenarios where they are asked to determine how to effectively deal with different epidemics. They then compare their responses to how different regions of the world deal with them given certain regional difficulties (both geographical and economic) they face.
Activity Type: In Class Role Play and Group Discussion
URLs: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/series/teachers/
pdf/rx_guide_deliveringgoods.pdf
Grade Level: 7-12
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Amount of Time Required for Activity: One to Two 40-minute Class Periods
Recommended Uses:
Prior to attending exhibit, this activity could serve to introduce students to the realities of the lack of universality in health care and how if affects personal and communal health.
After visiting the exhibit, this activity may be better suited as a follow-up activity that emphasizes the fact that although vaccines are important public health tools, they are not always accessible to those who need them most.
Description
In this activity, students take on the role of aid organization members who are responsible for getting a flu vaccine to a remote area with as little cost and as quickly as possible. Each team receives a card that details a real life scenario and then uses their prior knowledge and information they have access to in order to determine their best plan of action. After each team completes their task, the class shares their plans and discusses how healthcare is impacted by these types of difficulties.
This activity was developed as a part of a series called Rx for Survival by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
Relation to the Science Standards
Middle School and/or High School
Content Standard A - Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry
Content Standard F - Risks and benefits (middle school)
Content Standard F - Personal and Community Health
Content Standard F - Science and Technology in Local, National, and Global Challenges (high school)
Related Part of the Exhibit
Global Distribution of Disease
Additional Related Links
none
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