The Royal Health Awareness Society has recently conducted focus groups with Shababna volunteers to assess the impact of the project that was conducted in Jordan University of Science and Technology in cooperation with UNFPA, the United Nations Population.
To assess the success of Shababna Project that was conducted in Jordan University of Science and Technology and funded by UNFPA; RHAS held a focus group session with a number of participants in the Health Awareness course held during 30/3/2014 - 10/6/2014. The focus group session was conducted on the 22nd of June 2014.
Discussions showed that the intervention enhanced the knowledge of students in a number of health topics including obesity, diabetes, smoking, cancer, family planning, adolescence development, safe maternity, pre-marital preparation, and gender topics.
The discussions showed that course had changes beyond enhancing knowledge of students and enabled them to adopt healthier lifestyles and think more about their health choices. One of the students was able to significantly reduce smoking while the majority of students said that they were able to stop consuming unhealthy snacks and junk food, also one participant said that as a result of healthier eating habits and more awareness about calories she was able to lose 14 Kilograms.
During the discussions, participants said that a major outcome of their participation was developing personal skills that enabled them to become health ambassadors in their university; as a result of the soft skills training they received prior to designing their initiative.
Participants said that they were able to successfully work in teams and plan their initiatives. Moreover, they mentioned that they developed leadership skills that empowered them to transfer their knowledge to the students’ community during the initiatives and the events they held on
RHAS network of volunteers is an effective and powerful influencer for enhancing the outreach of the organization, and increasing health awareness of the youth population, since word of mouth really works in the university setting. These students will act as RHAS ambassadors and health advocates in their communities.
Shababna is a youth led project launched within the final quarter of 2011. The project aims to establish a national network of Jordanian youth volunteers that play a significant role in educating their peers and encouraging healthy lifestyles and behaviors. Youth volunteers receive training on various national health priority topics, leadership skills, communication skills and advocacy. By significantly building their capacity, youth volunteers contribute to the implementation of various health awareness based projects and initiatives throughout the Kingdom.
RHAS was established in 2005 under the direction of Her Majesty Queen Rania AlAbdullah to promote health and empower Jordanians to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviors. RHAS community-based projects are implemented in accordance with the needs of the communities and revolve around the national health priorities.