Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges
Abstract Background The shortage of clinical placements and preceptors necessitates innovative approaches to healthcare education. Community health fairs (CHFs) offer a potential solution, but their effectiveness as learning environments is limited. Further, there is lack of recent literature explor...
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BMC
2025-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07071-4 |
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| author | Martha Rojo Scott Wright Jing Jin Erickson Feliciano Margaret Love Sharon Stevenson |
| author_facet | Martha Rojo Scott Wright Jing Jin Erickson Feliciano Margaret Love Sharon Stevenson |
| author_sort | Martha Rojo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The shortage of clinical placements and preceptors necessitates innovative approaches to healthcare education. Community health fairs (CHFs) offer a potential solution, but their effectiveness as learning environments is limited. Further, there is lack of recent literature exploring CHFs settings as potential learning environments. This study examined and explored the benefits and challenges of healthcare students and faculty participating in a CHF setting. Methods Using a semi-structured guide developed by the researchers for this study, qualitative conversational interviews were conducted with 14 participants (7 students, 7 faculty) involved in an annual CHF. Prior to the interview, all participants completed a demographic data sheet. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, checked for accuracy, and de-identified, and MAXQDA was used to manage and code the interviews. Two coders analyzed the transcripts, and a third coder served to confirm the qualitative findings, and Clarke and Braun thematic analysis was employed to develop themes. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. Results Seven faculty participated in this study; the age range was 34–64 and years in practice ranged from 7 to 23, four participants were advanced practice nurses (28.6%), two mental health providers (14.3%), and one dental provider (7.1%). The student participants consisted of five dental hygiene students (35.7%) and two nursing students (14.3%). Participants were predominantly female (92.9%), with one male participant (7.1%). The average interview lasted 8 min reflecting the dynamic and fast-paced nature of CHFs. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Skills development and practical experience, (2) Perspective enhancement, (3) Challenges within the Learning environment, and (4) Recommendations for enhancing health fair settings experiences. Conclusions CHFs can serve as valuable active learning environments that promote clinical skill development and broaden perspectives. To improve CHFs experiences, participants discussed increasing collaborations with other healthcare institutions within the state, making the examination rooms more realistic, and increasing privacy for the patients. Participants also recommended pre-training of healthcare volunteers and incorporating technology for teaching patients. More research is needed to evaluate the utility of CHFs as a learning environment. This is urgent since clinical settings are limited and saturated. Further, researchers should continue doing research in this environment since the literature is scant and dated. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03039f6dfd5940c9911e754b7a28d72b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-03039f6dfd5940c9911e754b7a28d72b2025-08-20T03:06:57ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202025-04-012511910.1186/s12909-025-07071-4Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challengesMartha Rojo0Scott Wright1Jing Jin2Erickson Feliciano3Margaret Love4Sharon Stevenson5College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)Office of Educational Development, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)Abstract Background The shortage of clinical placements and preceptors necessitates innovative approaches to healthcare education. Community health fairs (CHFs) offer a potential solution, but their effectiveness as learning environments is limited. Further, there is lack of recent literature exploring CHFs settings as potential learning environments. This study examined and explored the benefits and challenges of healthcare students and faculty participating in a CHF setting. Methods Using a semi-structured guide developed by the researchers for this study, qualitative conversational interviews were conducted with 14 participants (7 students, 7 faculty) involved in an annual CHF. Prior to the interview, all participants completed a demographic data sheet. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, checked for accuracy, and de-identified, and MAXQDA was used to manage and code the interviews. Two coders analyzed the transcripts, and a third coder served to confirm the qualitative findings, and Clarke and Braun thematic analysis was employed to develop themes. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. Results Seven faculty participated in this study; the age range was 34–64 and years in practice ranged from 7 to 23, four participants were advanced practice nurses (28.6%), two mental health providers (14.3%), and one dental provider (7.1%). The student participants consisted of five dental hygiene students (35.7%) and two nursing students (14.3%). Participants were predominantly female (92.9%), with one male participant (7.1%). The average interview lasted 8 min reflecting the dynamic and fast-paced nature of CHFs. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Skills development and practical experience, (2) Perspective enhancement, (3) Challenges within the Learning environment, and (4) Recommendations for enhancing health fair settings experiences. Conclusions CHFs can serve as valuable active learning environments that promote clinical skill development and broaden perspectives. To improve CHFs experiences, participants discussed increasing collaborations with other healthcare institutions within the state, making the examination rooms more realistic, and increasing privacy for the patients. Participants also recommended pre-training of healthcare volunteers and incorporating technology for teaching patients. More research is needed to evaluate the utility of CHFs as a learning environment. This is urgent since clinical settings are limited and saturated. Further, researchers should continue doing research in this environment since the literature is scant and dated.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07071-4Qualitative researchHealth fairsStudents, health occupationsFaculty, nursingInterprofessional education |
| spellingShingle | Martha Rojo Scott Wright Jing Jin Erickson Feliciano Margaret Love Sharon Stevenson Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges BMC Medical Education Qualitative research Health fairs Students, health occupations Faculty, nursing Interprofessional education |
| title | Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| title_full | Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| title_fullStr | Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| title_short | Community health fairs as experiential learning: a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| title_sort | community health fairs as experiential learning a qualitative exploration of benefits and challenges |
| topic | Qualitative research Health fairs Students, health occupations Faculty, nursing Interprofessional education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07071-4 |
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