What Is It All About?
Participants reflect on practices and behaviours to minimize the risk of harm to themselves and others in various situations, including reducing the spread of infectious diseases. Participants examine the impact and credibility of media images/messages directed at Public Health and Safety measures and/or viruses/vaccinations campaigns to formulate ideas for their one media image/message.
Curriculum Connections
1, C1, C2, C3
Why Do It?
When participants have an opportunity to reflect on practices and behaviours that reduce the risk of harm to themselves and others, including practices and behaviours that reduce the spread of infectious disease, they are better able to make informed personal health choices and decisions to maintain their health across their life course.
How Do We Do It?
- Divide students into groups of 3-4 and provide access to sticky notes (electronic or paper). Post the following question for groups to reference. Have groups generate and record practices and behaviours they use to keep themselves and others safe in each situation listed, recording one strategy per sticky note.
- What practices and behaviours do you adopt to keep yourself and others safe when:
- driving with someone in a car
- wearing a bike helmet or safety gear
- exposed to UV light,
- getting a tattoo, piercing
- drinking at a party
- engaging in consensual sexual activity
- avoiding getting a Sexually Transmitted Blood Born Infection (STBBI)
- reducing the spread of an infectious disease
- What practices and behaviours do you adopt to keep yourself and others safe when:
- Invite groups to share each of their practices and behaviours and then post them in a designated space. As groups share, have them sort strategies into common strategies by placing their sticky notes on or beside others with the same or similar strategy.
- Locate and share media images, videos, and/or media messages that relate to current Public Health and Safety measures and/or viruses/vaccinations/other health behaviours and choices that might impact individual and community health. Consider accessing Ophea’s Vaccination Talks Toolkit Resource Database for sample images/ messages. Use an Inside/Outside Circle strategy and the following question prompts to engage participants about the selected images and/or words.
- Which image(s)/messages(s) captured your attention the most and why?
- How do you assess the credibility of health information on various social media sites? Where else can you access trusted public health information?
- How do you have a respectful dialogue with someone who is reluctant to discuss an issue such as vaccinations or has a different opinion than your own?
- What is the best advice you have been given or would give to ensure that you are doing everything you can to minimize your risk of exposure or contracting a preventable disease/condition and maintain your health (e.g., physical, emotional, environmental)?
- What is one thing you have learned about minimizing the health risk to yourself and others (e.g., greater awareness of consequences to behaviours, how to locate and determine if the information is reliable, health practices to follow to reduce the risk associated with the spread of infectious diseases).
- Have groups use the images as a model to plan an image/words they might create to spark a dialogue (with peers, parents/guardians/other adults, teachers, or employers) about the practices and behaviours that can minimize a health risk to themselves and others.
What Else Do We Need?
- Sticky notes (electronic or paper)
- Media images, videos, and/or media messages about current Public Health and Safety measures and/or viruses/vaccinations/other health behaviours and choices
How Do We Get Creative?
Have groups create their image or words in graphic format to share with others to facilitate a dialogue and then report on the results of their dialogue.