“Heal-Move-Shift (HMS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that aims to actively educate and partner with Middle Eastern and North African (ME/NA) communities regarding three tenets of health: Cardiovascular, Nutritional, and Mental Health. The target mission is to Heal the community, Move the conversation towards a healthier direction, and Shift the stigma away from pressing health concerns through creative and active engagement with Detroit and Ann Arbor communities, along with education programs unique to each community’s pressing health concerns.
Youth in the Middle Eastern and North African communities face barriers toward health education and access and Heal-Move-Shift acts as the middlemen to help bridge this gap. HMS implemented seminar-based programs in high schools where members of the partnered community educate youth through seminar-based programs. After an initial Pilot Program in Central Academy, Heal-Move-Shift expanded to parts of Detroit and Metro Detroit to reach larger Middle Eastern and North African (ME/NA) youth communities. This Winter, HMS will implement its wellness program in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Dearborn Heights at Central Academy, Dearborn High School, and Crestwood High School respectively.
Heal-Move-Shift research consist of collecting data by pre-seminar and post-seminar surveys from each wellness program seminar. The surveys are imperative in examining trends in student responses and correlate that to the overall effectiveness of our seminars. For the Central Academy pilot program eight entrance and exit surveys were given to students. Questions regarding the seminars ask participants to indicate the overall quality of the seminar (instruction, topics, activities) and their understanding of the topic discussed that seminar. Using data that is already available regarding health disparities in immigrant population, the goal is to compile all relevant information to assess the most appropriate way to address the problem and define any gaps in data that we may need to address through both preliminary research and school-based research.”
Check out their Capstone poster here!: HMS Capstone Poster
Team members:
Tariq Mekkaoui – Biomolecular Science, 2020
Mariam Reda – Creative Writing, 2020
Mohsin Arsiwala- Public Health, 2021
