Fall SAVY 2017, Day 5- Disease Detectives: How Scientists Prevent Big Problems (3rd/4th)

Posted by morganr1 on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 in Grade 3, Grade 4, SAVY.

We’re almost to the end Disease Detectives! I just want to take the time to say what an absolute pleasure it’s been to go through the SAVY experience with you all! I can proudly say that my first SAVY experience has been an amazing one and I hope you all have had a great time too! This week we covered a cluster outbreak. The case, albeit a fictitious one, focused on radon exposure causing lung cancer among a group of employees at a community center. We ran through the motions of a disease detective, working through our case definition first, determining what could possibly be the cause of lung cancer among a small group of individuals, and then working on putting all our learned tools together to create awareness campaigns for specific audiences.

We briefly discussed what the EPA does (especially in terms of radon levels), how to keep levels below the toxic threshold, and how smoking and radon exposure can greatly increase one’s risk for lung cancer. Can’t wait to share the exciting conclusion to our class with you all at the Open House next week!

-Sujata