SHU Public Health Program Partners with Fairfield CARES

Students will create attention-grabbing posts for organization’s social media accounts

Sacred Heart University’s master of public health (MPH) program has partnered with the Fairfield CARES Community Coalition to bring awareness to substance misuse and mental health issues among youth and young adults. The MPH students will create social media posts and marketing material to help the coalition spread its message of prevention.

The Fairfield CARES Community Coalition unites citizens, educators and leaders from throughout the area to promote healthy, responsible choices through prevention and education. The coalition also takes steps to ensure that alcohol, cigarette and vape retailers check IDs and do not sell such products to people who are underage.

This is the first year the MPH program is partnering with the coalition, and the collaboration is proving successful. Cathy Hazlett, Fairfield CARES Community Coalition program director, said she appreciates the help and expertise from SHU’s MPH students.

“The coalition has got a lot to cover, and that is hard for one person to do,” said Hazlett, Fairfield CARES’ sole staff member. “I am responsible for most of the communications, but I am not experienced in social media. So, that is where I rely on the help of younger people to create graphics and post them on our Instagram and Facebook accounts.”

All MPH students must take a health communication course, which focuses on public health messaging that is evidence-based and widely accessible. Students enrolled in the course will use what they’ve learned to create posts for the Instagram account  @fairfield_cares and the Facebook account FairfieldCARES. 

The student-generated messages will be shared three days a week following specific themes: mental health Mondays, substance use prevention Wednesdays and positive youth development Fridays. Students also will generate special posts for certain events and observances, such as suicide prevention month. Each student will be responsible for creating 12 posts between October and June.

Emma Warshauer ’24 is in the health communications course and also is completing her applied practice experience with the coalition. An applied practice experience is like an internship, in which students use what they’ve learned about public health in a real-world setting.

Warshauer focuses on determining the risk factors for substance abuse use among LGBTQ+ youth. “It is nice to be using my knowledge to help an organization that is doing so much, such as policy, grant writing, education and research,” said Warshauer. “The coalition is involved in so many different aspects of public health, so it is really interesting to apply what I have learned in the classroom to real-life situations.”

Uruj Khan ’23 also is completing her applied practice experience with the coalition as she takes the health communications course. She oversees Fairfield CARES’ youth alcohol and cannabis prevention project.

Anna Price, MPH professor and health communications course instructor, is proud that the students can assist Hazlett with social media. Price said the partnership is a win-win because Hazlett is receiving the help she needs while the students are gaining experience.

“The important thing with community partners is that we want to make sure we are actually contributing to the work they are doing,” said Price. “Our partnership with Fairfield CARES is going very well, and our students love working with Cathy. I am glad we can take something off her plate.”

Hazlett and Price hope to continue the partnership in the future and to expand the Fairfield CARES Community Coalition’s presence in the area.