The following application was submitted by a sixth grade research team from the National Student Research Center at Mandeville Middle School in Mandeville, Louisiana. The team members were Chris Chugden, Amber French, James Rees, and Whitney Stoppel. Their project was a national finalist in 1998.
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The Prevention Of Cold And Flu Epidemics In Schools
Section 1: Identifying The Community Issue
What is the issue?
Our issue is how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as the common cold and influenza, in schools.
How did the team identify the issue?
We identified this issue by brainstorming the most common problems in our community with our teacher and classmates.
Why is the issue important to the team?
The issue is important to us because we are concerned about the amount of absenteeism in our community's schools during the cold and flu season.
How does this issue affect the community?
High rates of absenteeism can lead to lower academic achievement for students. It is also a waste of community resources and money when schools are open and only a few students attend because most are sick at home.
What would happen if the problem was not solved?
Many students would continue to get sick during the cold and flu season and miss out on their education.
Section 2: Community-Based Research
Whom did you interview?
We interviewed personnel at the St. Tammany Parish Hospital's Health Education Program, the St. Tammany Parish Health Unit, the St. Tammany Parish School Board's Census Department, the St. Tammany Parish School Board's School Nurse, a Public Health professional, a medical doctor, a medical nurse, and numerous Mandeville Middle School parents.
What did you learn?
We learned that epidemiology is the medical science that includes the study of the spread of diseases in a highly populated area. Epidemics can be prevented before the cause of the disease is found. This is done through public health programs. Telling people about the causes and the prevention of epidemics is crucial in the control of epidemics. The surgical mask is a device which is used to prevent the spread of germs that cause diseases such as the common cold and flu. These masks are used in hospitals, laboratories, work places, and out in public in many cultures.
Little tiny parasites, that include RNA or DNA and a safeguarding coat of protein, make up viruses. Viruses are the tiniest living thing that can replicate. Viruses differ greatly in size and shape. The three most common structures that exist are equilateral triangles, rod-shaped, and tadpole-like. Viruses spread from person to person. When people cough and sneeze, they let out little tiny moisture droplets from their nose and mouth. These droplets contain viruses or bacteria. Other people breathe in these droplets and may become sick with the virus. Epidemic viruses come in waves and attack thousands of people. Viruses are the cause of the common cold and influenza.
The common cold is a viral infection of the respiratory tract.
It is caused by many types of viruses. It usually occurs in the nose and the throat. Some of the symptoms are nasal congestion, coughing, sore throat, and fever. No cure has yet been found. Bed rest is commonly recommended by doctors. Other things that may help are taking medicines that focus on the symptoms of the common cold. Recent studies show that schools and businesses have had high rates of absenteeism because of the common cold. The average person gets two to three colds each year. The labor force has over 150 million people absent each year because of colds! This cost lots of money for the missed hours of work. Anyone is able to catch the common cold. Children in schools and adults, like teachers, who are around children seem to be highly susceptible to catching colds.
Influenza is a highly contagious illness of the respiratory tract. It is caused by the influenza virus. If you have a fever, coughing, and painful muscle aches, you might be getting influenza. Influenza spreads very fast, attacking many people. This illness lasts anywhere from three to seven days. It starts abruptly, with a 39.4 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) fever in adults and higher in children. You also may be very weak. Plenty of fluids and bed rest may help you get better.
Public health organizations and health professionals help keep the city and surrounding areas healthy. The most important things from a public health point of view are germ-free food and water, effective sanitation systems, control and prevention of diseases, help to those who need health care, and laws that contribute to health.
We also learned about the different ways that students can help protect themselves from getting colds and the flu such as washing their hands, keeping thing like pencils and fingers out of their nose and mouth, not sharing eating utensils, not drinking out of the same can, cup, or bottle as someone else, covering their nose and mouth with their hands or their arm when they cough or sneeze, ventilating their classroom, staying away from sick students, and staying home when they are sick so no one else will get their disease.
Why is the information important for understanding your issue?
This information is important for understanding our issue for several reasons. First, we needed to know as much as possible about the problem we chose so that our proposed solution had a good chance of working. Second, in order to test our solution using the scientific method we needed a hypothesis or educated guess that could only come from the information we gathered. Third, when we are going from classroom to classroom training students we need to know what we are talking about and be able to answer students' questions.
How did the information help the team to formulate a solution?
When we researched the common cold and flu we learned how the viruses which cause these illnesses are transmitted from person to person. We decided to block this transmission of viruses by using a surgical mask to cover the nose and mouth and, thus, prevent the spread of the common cold and flu. We also learned additional ways students can protect themselves from getting sick. We used this information in our instructional video which is part of our training program.
Section 3: Testing The Proposed Solution
What is the proposed solution?
We plan to make Designer Health Masks from surgical masks that, when worn at school, will prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases in our school community during the cold and flu season.
How did the team test the solution?
First, we identified a problem within our community which was viral epidemics in our schools during the cold and flu season. Then we developed a statement of purpose. Next, we wrote a review of literature about epidemiology, viruses, the common cold, influenza, diseases, and public health. Then we interviewed numerous community health professionals and school officials about viral epidemics in schools (St. Tammany Parish Hospital's Health Education Program, the St. Tammany Parish Health Unit, the St. Tammany Parish School Board's Census Department, the St. Tammany Parish School Board's School Nurse, a Public Health professional, a medical doctor, a medical nurse, and numerous parents). From the information we gathered, we developed our hypothesis.
We then developed a methodology to test our hypothesis. Next, we gathered the materials needed to conduct our research. They included; sterile plastic petri dishes (with a lid), surgical masks, Knox plain gelatin, and data collection sheet.
Then we began our experimentation. First, we opened a bag of sterile petri dishes and prepared the Knox plain gelatin which would be used as the growing medium. We laid down twelve petri dishes on a table. We filled the petri dishes with 25 milliliters of Knox plain gelatin and immediately covered them. The first 4 petri dishes were used as a controls. They were sealed and received no treatment of any kind. The second set of 4 petri dishes were opened and coughed on three times, from a distance of 30 centimeters, without a surgical mask on. The last set of 4 petri dishes were coughed on three times, from a distance of 30 centimeters, with a surgical mask on. Everyday, for six days, we observed the dishes to check for microorganisms growing on the medium of the dishes. We recorded our data on our data collection sheet.
After our observations, we analyzed our data using simple statistics, graphs, and charts. Then we wrote a summary and conclusion where we rejected or accepted our hypothesis. Finally, we applied our findings to our school environment.
Our controlled variables included the type and size of petri dishes, the type of surgical masks, the amount of coughs on the petri dishes, the surroundings where the petri dishes were put, the time period for observation, and the type and amount of gelatin used. Our manipulated variable was coughing on the two sets of experimental dishes with and without the surgical masks on. Our responding variable was the growth of microorganisms on the medium of the petri dishes.
What were the results of the test?
On day 6, the final day of our experiment, there was a total of 16 colonies of microorganisms growing on the Control petri dishes. There was a total of 21 colonies of microorganisms growing on the Experimental Group 1 petri dishes which we coughed on with the surgical masks on. There was a total of 137 colonies of microorganisms growing on the Experimental Group 2 petri dishes which we coughed on without a surgical mask on.
On day 6, the final day of our experiment, the colonies of microorganisms growing on the control petri dishes had an average diameter of 6.25 mm. The colonies of microorganisms growing on the Experimental Group 1 petri dishes had an average diameter of 6.50 mm. The colonies of microorganisms growing on the Experimental Group 2 petri dishes had an average diameter of 8.00 mm.
How do the test results support the solution?
Our data show that surgical masks significantly reduced the number and growth of microorganisms deposited on the petri dishes when they were coughed on. Therefore, we accept our hypothesis which stated that the surgical masks will significantly reduce the migration of microorganisms from the nose and mouth to the medium of a petri dish.
Section 4: How The Solution Works
How does the solution work?
Our research basically demonstrated what it would be like to cough on someone accidentally. The petri dish could be considered another person's face. When the surgical mask is on the probability that the person who was coughed on will be infected with common cold and flu germs is greatly reduced. We will also encourage students to wear our Designer Health Mask at school and on the bus. When they put the mask on, it will stop the germs from going directly onto their face. The mask will increase protection from viruses and bacteria.
Additionally, when students cough or sneeze on someone or when they cough or sneeze into their hand and then touch something which other students will touch, such as a door-knob or computer keyboard, they are spreading harmful microorganisms. To prevent the transmission of these microorganisms, we also plan to teach students about the spread of colds and the flu, and how they can help protect themselves from getting sick. We will use an instructional video and training session to do this.
How would the team make its solution a reality?
We will create an instructional video that will teach students what the Designer Health Mask can do and how it is to use them. The video will also contain information about other ways that students and teachers can help protect themselves from getting sick (ie: washing their hands, keeping thing like pencils and fingers out of their nose and mouth, not sharing eating utensils, not drinking out of the same can, cup, or bottle, covering their nose and mouth with their hands or their arm when they cough or sneeze, ventilating their classroom, staying away from sick students, and staying home when they are sick so no one else will get their illness). We will show students how to make their own Designer Health Mask with their favorite logo or creative art work on it. We will also demonstrate how to use the masks. Funds for the production of the video and the training sessions will come from Mandeville Middle School's Community Education Program.
Our school principal, Mr. Joseph Fetter, has given us permission to visit all the classrooms in our school in order to train students and distribute the health masks.
We will divide up into two training teams. Each team will be responsible for training twenty classrooms. The training sessions will last fifteen minutes and will include the viewing of our video, a demonstration on how to use the Designer Health Mask, and instruction on how to place the students' favorite logo or creative art work on the front of the surgical mask. Teachers, students, and parents will then be responsible for finishing the individual Designer Health Mask.
After training the students, we will distribute the surgical masks. The students will then place their favorite logo or their art work on their mask and wear it every day during the cold and flu season which usually occurs during the months of November, December, January, and February. The surgical masks are being donated by our community hospitals.
To make sure that our program works every year, our teacher, Dr. John Swang, has agreed to form a School Epidemic Control Committee in his classroom. His future students on this committee will use our video to train students and distribute the Designer Health Masks each school year prior to the cold and flu season.
Research will be conducted each year which will monitor the success of our project. This year we will gather data on the students attitudes about wearing the Designer Health Mask, the number of students who are willing to wear the masks, and what they learned about staying healthy from our instructional video. Next year, and every year thereafter, student members of the School Epidemic Control Committee will gather data on the rate of absenteeism and attendance at other school activities during the school year for all students who wear the Designer Health Mask. Once the annual research is completed, the findings will be published in the National Student Research Center's printed and electronic journals of student research which are circulated world-wide. In this way, students in other schools within the global community can use our program.
The time table below describes the steps we will take to make our solution a reality:
1997-1998 1998-1999 (and beyond) August School Began School Begins September Train Students October Create Designer Masks November Cold & Flu Season Began Cold & Flu Season Begins December Wear Masks If Necessary January (Entered Contest) Wear Masks If Necessary February Make Instructional Video Wear Masks If Necessary March Train Students " April Create Designer Masks " May Measure Program Success Measure Program Success June End of School End of School July Summer Break Summer Break
How would the solution improve the quality of life for people in the community?
Our solution can improve the quality of life for our school community by helping students protect themselves from getting sick with infectious diseases while at school. Many more students would be able to attend class and participate in more extra-curricular activities because they are not sick a lot during the cold and flu season. This is also good for working parents because they won't have to take off from work to stay home with their sick children.
What issues (social attitudes, politics, money issues, technology, etc.) might keep the team's idea from becoming a reality?
We may experience that many students don't want to wear the Designer Health Mask because of the way it looks or because they feel embarrassed, since it is so different. To help change this, students may add their favorite logo or art work to the front of the masks.
We may find that some teachers do not want to participate in our program, at first. We and our teacher will inform these teachers about the advantage of participation in regards to better school attendance and higher academic achievement for their students. We will also inform teachers that they could reduce their lost wages and lost benefits, which they experience when they get sick, by participating in our program and staying healthy themselves.
We may also find that some companies do not want to let students use their registered logos on the Designer Health Masks. We think that most will not really care, but if they do, students can then use their creative abilities to design their own logo or art work.
© 2007 John I. Swang, Ph.D.