Students of the Health Education and Physical Activity (HEPA) Master’s program recently traveled to the Federal Republic of Germany where they participated in the 10th Annual Health Education and Injury Prevention Field Course and Conference in collaboration with the University of Cologne.

Dr. Sandra Vamos, Coordinator of HEPA, and her graduate students engaged in current international dialogue and research with scholars, health professionals, and students from the University of Cologne, University of South Florida, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. As representatives of both SFU and Canada, students gained fundamental international knowledge, skills, and experience by exploring international frameworks, practices, and venues of health education and their functions in establishing healthy communities and countries.

International students explored cross-cultural health issues relating to health literacy in order to collaborate on pertinent universal health education and health promotion themes ranging from homelessness, street youth, and HPV vaccinations to the role of outdoor education and health education within the curricula. This multi-national collaborative opportunity culminated in research presentations that focused on international health education recommendations for policy, education, and theoretical innovation. Site visits encompassed a lifespan, holistic, and ecological approach to address both health education and public health. These areas include a wide range of topics such as policy, behaviour, education, community, consumer science, marketing, engineering etc.

During this international experience, students visited notable health institutions and organizations in and around Cologne. Site examples include:

The German Sport University Cologne (Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln) (Germany’s largest and most prestigious center of teaching and research in physical education and sport science)

The Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZGA) Federal Center for Health Education

University of Cologne, Centre for Pediatrics & Queen Rania Rehabilitation Center
(an internationally renowned research centre with experts in bone and muscle development in children studying changes during lifespan and osteoporosis prevention utilizing sample agility test)

Bad Hönningen, Rhineland-Palatinate
(to tour famous German health spa and experience the German health spa philosophy first-hand near the Rhine River)

For more information about the HEPA program, visit:

www.educ.sfu.ca/gradprogs/masters/HEPA

For more information about Dr. Sandra Vamos and her research, visit:

http://www.educ.sfu.ca/members/