AUD celebrates World Health Day
Students at The American University in Dubai (AUD) celebrated World Health Day yesterday with various on campus health-related activities; medical checkups were organized and planned for as part of their University Experience (UNIV) class project, taught by Prof. Jason Seeto, Assistant Professor of English at AUD’s Department of Liberal Arts. The activity was supervised by Ms. Nelly Halabi, AUD’s Health Center Director, in terms of deciding, with the students, on the awareness topics to be covered, approving the health information to be offered, and organizing the activity by contacting physicians and specialists to take part in, and contribute to, the event. Students, staff and faculty assembled at the event to learn about the associated risks of an unhealthy lifestyle and the protective methods applied for a better and healthier living.
An array of awareness topics were covered and included the Stop Smoking Campaign - with lung function tests offered to students by specialists from The American Hospital, Oral and Personal Hygiene - with on campus free dental checkups performed by Dr. Ameen Al Yousef, a General Dentist at The Emirates Medical Center, and Diet and Nutrition - with Body Mass Index (BMI) checkups performed by the AUD Health Center staff and UNIV students.
On his reflections about the importance of having his UNIV students organize such on campus health-related activities, Prof. Seeto commented:
“Over the past 2 years at AUD, I have been working hard each semester in raising awareness about serious health issues with my UNIV 101 classes. As a former health educator, I believe that such issues need to be raised and people in the community need to be aware of these concerns as they directly affect all of us”.
Nelly Halabi, in turn, acknowledged that:
“Our aim is to have students engage in such awareness activities to promote attentiveness to precautionary health measures that can be taken to deter traits that are destructive to the human body, thus triggering the wellbeing of the youth.”
“This event is a precedent on the nature of activities that are organized by AUD on a regular basis to promote the wellbeing of its community,” she concluded.
UNIV student Malika Tolegenova stressed on the significance of such class projects in driving people to be aware of what is going on inside their bodily system. She also added:
“The activity also helped me learn how to work as part of a group and collaborate with my fellow colleagues for such a fine cause that promotes healthy living.”
As to Dr. Ameen Al Yousef, he asserted:
“This year The Emirates Medical Center has decided to conduct dental checkups on the University’s campus to better increase the awareness about oral and personal hygiene and attend to the student’s health concerns right on the spot while offering them simple preventive methods to illustrate how they can adopt habits that alter the lifestyle of each into a healthier and more hygienic one.”
