Service Learning as an Approach to Combatting the Triad of Interrelated Diseases in the District of Columbia

Abstract

The maintenance of good health and wellness for individuals and communities depend on the provision of opportunities to prevent health problems and improve their basic health and well-being. The traditional learning approach in the nursing profession is based on individual and curative models of care. However, combating the interrelated triad of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension that affect a large percentage of younger and older adults in the District of Columbia calls for a paradigm shift of learning toward a collective and social approach such as service-learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how interprofessional and multi-disciplinary practices are used to tackle health issues and explain how the pedagogical approach, with social and preventive directions, led to the development and sustainable community partnerships in all eight wards of the District of Columbia.