Infectious Disease
Workshop
PKIDs' Infectious Disease Workshop (IDW), is an educational tool for
people of all ages and with all levels of understanding about infectious
diseases. In this workshop, you will learn about bacteria and viruses,
how to prevent infections, how to prepare for a bioterrorist attack or other disaster, how
to keep athletes healthy, how to eliminate the social stigma that
too often accompanies diseases such as HIV or hepatitis C, and so much
more.
We hope that both instructors and participants come away from this workshop
feeling comfortable with their new level of education on infectious diseases.
The IDW is designed to “train-the-trainer,” providing instructors
not only with background materials but also with age-appropriate activities
for the participants. Instructors do not need to be professional educators
to use these materials. They were designed with both educators and laypersons
in mind.
The workshop documents are in PDF format. To view them, you will need Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher. Download Reader free of charge from www.adobe.com.
Unit 1: About Infectious Diseases
Disease-causing microbes—what we can’t see can hurt us.
Here's what you need to know about diseases, infections, viruses
and bacteria and how our bodies fight them off. Learn about infectious
diseases in the United States and around the world.
Instructor's Background Text
Introduction to Infectious Diseases
Learn the history of epidemics, what separates viruses from bacteria and how germs once saved a Polish village from the Nazis. Get the low-down on numerous infectious diseases common in the U.S. and the world. Learn the dangers these diseases pose, along with how infectious diseases spread.
Activities
Ages 2-6
A fascinating germ buster story that teaches kids where germs hide out
and a fun exercise with glitter or nutmeg to teach preschoolers how easily
germs spread and how germs end up in the most unlikely places.
We now offer a Xhosa translation of the “Grungy Germ Story” in this unit, thanks to Melissa Hawkley in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ages 6-9
Every kid can be a germ buster when they know how to protect themselves
against germs when someone sneezes, coughs or bleeds. Plus, try these
experiments to find out how germs spread.
Ages 9-12
Find out just how small little things like microbes are, plus, figure out
how those germs really do spread and it’s the card game that pits
the kids against microbes to win points for health.
Ages 13-18 and Visual Aid
Compare and contrast various diseases, see microscopic imagery of the
different viruses and bacteria, figure out how germs are transmitted and
solve the mystery of the Malignant Microbes.
Ages Adult and Visual Aid
Compare and contrast various diseases, see microscopic imagery of the
different viruses and bacteria, figure out how germs are transmitted and
puzzle your way through a word jumble.
Unit 2: Disease Prevention
Learn how handwashing, standard precautions and immunizations prevent
infectious diseases. Plus, great insights for all ages on when and how
to clean up blood spills and body fluids.
Text
Disease Prevention (Part 1)
What body fluids are infectious? How much protection do you need when
there’s a blood spill? Here’s everything you need to know
about standard precautions for every occasion, plus how to disinfect and
what the CDC recommends to keep your hands germ-free.
Disease Prevention (Part 2)
What is safer sex? What you don’t know could kill you. Also, can
getting a tattoo give you hepatitis C? Learn everything you ever wanted
to know about vaccines, their safety and how they work.
Disease Prevention (Part 3)
Here’s what you need to know about every disease out there that
can be prevented by an immunization, from polio and meningitis to smallpox
and chickenpox. Includes reports on what vaccines kids, adolescents and
adults should get to protect their health.
Please visit the CDC's website for the latest immunization schedules.
Activities
Ages 2-6
Here’s a great song that kids can sing while washing their hands,
plus a germ buster story that teaches kids where germs hide out and a
fun exercise with glitter or nutmeg to teach preschoolers how easily germs
spread and what to do (and not do) when someone bleeds.
Ages 6-9
Every kid can be a germ buster when they know how to protect themselves
against germs when someone sneezes, coughs or bleeds. Plus, try this experiment
to find out the best way to wash your hands, and teach students how to
safely respond when someone bleeds.
Ages 9-12
Great experiments to discover the most effective handwashing and disease
prevention practices. Plus, a standard precautions practice session (pass
the ketchup please) and it’s the antigens vs. the antibodies as
kids act out how the immune system vanquishes infections.
Ages 13-18
Teens experiment to find the most effective handwashing technique and
design posters, videos and computer presentations to promote effective
disease prevention practices. Plus, a hands-on standard precautions practice
session.
Ages Adult
A primer on standard precautions and disease prevention when adults face
blood and body fluid spills, airborne germs and contact with infected
skin or germ-bearing objects. Also, enjoy a discussion on how we can prevent
diseases at home and work.
Unit 3: Sports
Keeping athletes and those who work with them safe is critical when participating
in activities that invite risk. The same holds true for playground visitors
—the risk of spreading disease is not small.
Text
Sports and Infectious Diseases
Because of the risk of cuts and blood spills, coaches, teachers and athletes
need to practice standard precautions to protect themselves and their
students. This section also examines if athletes with HIV or viral hepatitis
should be allowed to play sports and what infections should sideline athletes.
Activities
Ages 2-6
Learn safe playground behavior through a fun coloring booklet, plus an
entertaining “playing it safe” role-playing exercise for kids.
Also features an age-appropriate primer on what to do when someone bleeds
or body fluids are present.
Ages 6-9
Kids can interview athletes and coaches about what they do to prevent
injury and disease transmission, plus a playground safety booklet and
a primer on what kids should do when blood or body fluids are present.
Ages 9-12
Kids design a sport-specific safety poster, interview athletes on how
to stay safe and healthy and talk about what famous athletes have had
infectious diseases and what is done to prevent diseases from spreading.
Ages 13-18
Students make posters promoting sports safety, they learn why Magic Johnson’s
teammates don’t have to worry about catching HIV and they fill out
a standard precautions worksheet to learn how to stop the spread of germs.
They can also sign a “Stigma Awareness Statement” to promote
education and combat stigma.
Ages Adult
Find great safety checklists that raise awareness about bloodborne pathogens
in sports settings, playground safety and what needs to be in every first
aid and infection control kit. There is a stigma awareness statement for
athletes and coaches plus an overview of critical infection control practices
that every coach should use.
Unit 4: Stigma
Stigma and infectious diseases have a long history together. In earlier
centuries, those suffering from leprosy led solitary lives as fear and
ignorance of the disease kept others away. The same thing happened to
many of those infected with HIV, and still goes on today in many parts
of the world, including the U.S.
Text
Stigma and Infectious Diseases
People with infectious diseases are often unfairly and illegally stigmatized,
even when their infection poses no risk to others. Why do we stigmatize
the infected? What is it really like to have HIV? What happens when children
are stigmatized? A combination of health education and compassion can
strike down stigma before it hurts.
Activities
Ages 2-6
Through the story of Sammy Squirrel, learn what it feels like when friends
turn their back because of an illness. And, with some help from Dr. Seuss’
“The Sneetches,” kids learn how it feels when no one will
play with them because of their “shape.”
Ages 6-9
Students experience the heartbreak of discrimination and stigma through
the stories of Sammy Squirrel and Ryan White, and through a role-playing
exercise as they experience stigma based on their assigned “geometric
shape.”
Ages 9-12
In an intriguing exercise, students learn they are infected with hepatitis
B and decide whom to tell or not tell … they experience the ramifications
of each disclosure decision. In “Tale of Two Cities,” the
story of Ryan White’s experiences with discrimination in Kokomo,
Indiana, are studied.
Ages 13-18
Examine your attitudes toward those infected, think again about your own
susceptibility to infectious disease and learn more about the experiences
of those infected through the stories of Ryan White and others. Finally,
raise your consciousness by signing the Stigma Awareness Statement.
Ages Adult
Assess your own beliefs about those with infectious diseases, learn how
vulnerable we all are to infections and examine the timeline of AIDS to
watch how public health policy has worked—and failed—to
protect the public.
Unit 5: Civil Rights
Those affected by or infected with infectious diseases do have legal
rights. Determining what those rights are and where recourse lies when
those rights are violated can be difficult.
Text
Civil Rights and Infectious Diseases
Learn what laws and regulations prohibit discrimination based on disease.
Learn about the protections available to kids in daycare, students and
employees who have infectious diseases such as HIV or viral hepatitis.
How do you determine if they pose a health risk? Is it ever legal to exclude
them from school, daycare or sports activities?
Activities
Ages 2-6
What is fair and unfair? Kids make the call on a variety of scenarios.
Who can ride on the bus? Another great exercise where kids learn compassion
and the value of anti-discrimination laws.
Ages 6-9
Brush up on civil rights vocabulary so students can “talk the talk”
when it comes to social justice and make the right call as they learn
to distinguish fair from unfair in this thought-provoking exercise. Students
also learn to discern right from wrong as they review a timeline of discrimination
in the United States.
Ages 9-12
Students learn the vocabulary of civil rights and they learn to make the
right call and do the right thing as they distinguish fair from unfair
in an exercise sure to inspire lots of discussion. Students learn to discern
right from wrong as they review a timeline of discrimination in the United
States.
Ages 13-18
Review the history of civil rights protection for people with disabilities
in America, or be judge and jury as students discuss recent court cases
that address the rights of people with infectious disease. Can a dentist
refuse to treat someone with HIV in his office? Should the state of Alabama
be permitted to segregate inmates with HIV? Finally, identify recent just
and unjust events that have been in the news.
Ages Adult
Discuss the progress of civil rights protection for people with disabilities
in America, or take a look at some recent court cases that determined
the rights of the disabled. Should a dentist refuse to treat someone with
HIV in his office? Should the state of Alabama be permitted to segregate
inmates with HIV?
Unit 6: Bioterrorism
Bioterrorists have made it harder to stay healthy. Learn what we can do
to prepare for such attacks and how we can protect our children.
Text
Bioterrorism and Infectious Diseases (Part 1)
How prepared is America for an act of bioterrorism? How should we respond
to suspicious packages? An in-depth look at what you need to know about
the agents bioterrorists might use, including anthrax, pneumonic plague,
smallpox, botulism, tularemia and hemorrhagic fevers.
Bioterrorism and Infectious Diseases (Part 2)
How to prepare yourself, your family and your home in the event of a bioterrorist
attack. What should go in a disaster supplies kit? What food and water
supplies should you have on hand if there is an emergency?
Activities
Ages 2-6
Help students prepare an emergency contact list and a personal comfort
kit in the event disaster strikes.
Ages 6-9
Students prepare an emergency contact list and a personal comfort kit
in the event an emergency occurs. They also learn how to identify people
and their unique features.
Ages 9-12
Students prepare an emergency contact list and a personal comfort kit
in the event an emergency. They also learn how to identify people and
their unique features.
Ages 13-18
Students prepare an emergency contact list and a personal comfort kit
in the event an emergency occurs and learn what government agencies respond
in an emergency and what role each organization plays.
Ages Adult
Prepare an emergency contact list so you know whom to call, learn to create
a personal comfort kit for your family and learn what individual federal,
state and local agencies do during an emergency.
Glossary
Find definitions for terms used throughout all units of the workshop in the glossary.
Evaluation
We hope that you find this workshop useful. We would like the opportunity
to improve any areas you feel would benefit from change. Please take a
moment to fill out this short survey and fax or mail it back to us. We appreciate your time, thank you.
We welcome any questions, comments, or feedback you may have about the
IDW or any other issue relating to infectious diseases in children.
©PKIDs 2004-2008
Important disclaimer: The information on pkids.org is for educational purposes only and should not be considered to be medical advice. It is not meant to replace the advice of the physician who cares for your child. All medical advice and information should be considered to be incomplete without a physical exam, which is not possible without a visit to your doctor. |
