A Community-Campus Partnership for Health: The Seat Pleasant-University of Maryland Health Partnership

Abstract

A partnership formed between the University of Maryland and the city of Seat Pleasant, Maryland, designed to enhance the health of the city's residents and the education of the university's students--graduate and undergraduate--in the Department of Public and Community Health is described. The health partnership is based on service-learning theory, and a presentation of research findings related to service learning is offered. The history of the health partnership, its developmental stages, its operational procedures, and its evaluation are discussed. In addition, projects resulting from health partnership activities and projects and goals projected for the future are presented. Throughout the article, lessons learned are discussed, and the discussion and conclusions detail the benefits to inform other programs interested in forming a community-campus partnership for health.