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Kent State’s Rho Chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) was honored this year with the Eta Sigma Gamma Chapter Recognition Award. This prestigious award recognizes a chapter of the organization that completes two Health Education and Promotion activities (in the areas of teaching, service or research), meeting five out of eight ESG Standards for Chapter Management and Professional Development and meeting three of the four ESG Standards for Health Education and Health Promotion.

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The Rho Chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma, whose mission is the advancement of the discipline in Health Education and Promotion by elevating standards, ideals, competence, and ethics of professionally prepared individuals in the field, was founded in 1974 and experienced a brief period of inactivity before resuming in the Fall Semester of 2019 under the leadership of Dr. Amanda Burke of the School of Health Sciences and M. Scott Stanley, Health Education and Promotion Doctoral Candidate and Rho President. Since its reactivation, the Rho Chapter has introduced 28 new members, and participated in several successful service and health education-related projects in the last 18 months. Two of these activities were honored with the organization’s Recognition Award: Rare Disease Day 2020 and Gambling Disorder Screening Day 2020.

The goal of Rare Disease Day 2020 was to spotlight rare diseases and advocate for research that focuses around them. To promote the event, members

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created educational display boards and staffed a table to raise both awareness and funds for the United Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency Foundation. Additionally, the Rho Chapter encouraged individuals to write something that makes them special and different on cardboard cut-outs in the shape of hands, alluding to the rarity of diseases and the uniqueness of all.

The Gambling Disorder Screening Day 2020 activity, which was set up in collaboration with Ohio’s Prevention Action Alliance and Portage County’s Townhall II, provided people with self-assessments that signal gambling behaviors. The Rho Chapter also shared health education and treatment resources. Members were also trained in the Before You Bet problem gambling awareness screen developed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

The Rho Chapter was presented with the Recognition Award on Monday, April 5, 2021, during the virtual ESG Annual Business Meeting & Awards Ceremony held in conjunction with the annual Society for Public Health Education conference.