A New Online Strategy in Teaching Racial and Ethnic Health and Health Disparities to Public Health Professionals

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bailey ◽  
Justin Moore ◽  
Shanekia Joyner
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Online Strategy

scholarly journals Addressing the Under-Representation of African American Public Health Researchers: The Flint Youth Public Health Academy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Key
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Educational Trajectories ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Walden University

In order to meet the health needs of a culturally diverse population, the United States public health workforce must become ethnically diversified to provide culturally competent care. The underrepresentation of minority, specifically African American public health professionals may be a contributing factor to the high rates of preventable health disparities in the African American community. Studies have shown that racial/ethnic communities bear the highest disparities across multiple health outcomes. African Americans, when compared with European Americans, suffer the greatest rates of health disparities, thus providing the justification to increase minority public health professionals. In addition, studies suggest that minorities are more likely to seek medical and health services from individuals of the same ethnicity. This will assist in decreasing language and comprehension barriers and increase the cultural competence of the health providers who serve populations from their ethnic/cultural origin. This chapter will highlight a 2014 study designed to explore and identify motivators for African Americans to choose public health as a career. African American public health professionals and graduate students were engaged to discuss their career and educational trajectories and motivators for career choice. Using qualitative research methods, this study was guided by the following research question: what are the motivating factors to engage African Americans into careers in public health? The study was approved by the Walden University Institutional Review Board and was conducted in 2014. The results of this study have served as the blueprint for the creation of the Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA). Coincidently the 2014 study was wrapping up at the genesis of the Flint Water Crisis (FWC). The FWC impacted residents of all ages in Flint. Specifically, the youth of Flint were exposed to lead (a neuro-toxin) and other contaminants through the water system which impacted them physically and cognitively. National media outlets disseminated headlines across the world that Flint youth would have behavioral (aggression) issues and struggle academically as a result of their exposure to lead. The FPHYA was designed to provide positive messages to and about Flint youth. It is an introduction to careers in public health, medicine, and research for Flint Youth. It creates a space for Flint youth to work through their lived experience of the FWC while learning the important role public health and research plays in recovering from an environmental public health crisis. More importantly, it is a pathway to public health careers providing didactic sessions, local mentors and internships.

Preparing Public Health Professionals to Address Social Injustices Through Critical Service-Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 237337992110071
Author(s):  
R. Tyler Derreth ◽  
Vanya C. Jones ◽  
Mindi B. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Public Health Professionals

The 2020 summer of protests for racial justice amid continued police violence coupled with the widening health disparities due to COVID-19 have made the need for social change and community-informed public health practice abundantly clear. Public health professionals need to combine public health knowledge with collaboration, communication, and reflection to address these health disparities and social injustices. Likewise, as public health educators, we need to develop curricula that train students in these complex skills in order to be effective practitioners. To do this, public health schools and programs should adopt critical service-learning as a central pedagogy in curricula because it is specifically designed to address our current crises with its combination of practice, research, and reflection that together aims for social change. As a means of institutionalizing the pedagogy, faculty can practice and advocate for resources as faculty champions of service-learning.

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Education for Public Health: A Practical Foundation for Solidarity

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Perkiö ◽  
R Harrison ◽  
M Grivna ◽  
D Tao ◽  
C Evashwich
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Rigorous Evaluation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Professionals

Abstract Education is a key to creating solidary among the professionals who advance public health’s interdisciplinary mission. Our assumption is that if all those who work in public health shared core knowledge and the skills for interdisciplinary interaction, collaboration across disciplines, venues, and countries would be facilitated. Evaluation of education is an essential element of pedagogy to ensure quality and consistency across boundaries, as articulated by the UNESCO education standards. Our study examined the evaluation studies done by programs that educate public health professionals. We searched the peer reviewed literature published in English between 2000-2017 pertaining to the education of the public health workforce at a degree-granting level. The 2442 articles found covered ten health professions disciplines and had lead authors representing all continents. Only 86 articles focused on evaluation. The majority of the papers examined either a single course, a discipline-specific curriculum or a teaching method. No consistent methodologies could be discerned. Methods ranged from sophisticated regression analyses and trends tracked over time to descriptions of focus groups and interviews of small samples. We found that evaluations were primarily discipline-specific, lacked rigorous methodology in many instances, and that relatively few examined competencies or career expectations. The public health workforce enjoys a diversity of disciplines but must be able to come together to share diverse knowledge and skills. Evaluation is critical to achieving a workforce that is well trained in the competencies pertinent to collaboration. This study informs the pedagogical challenges that must be confronted going forward, starting with a commitment to shared core competencies and to consistent and rigorous evaluation of the education related to training public health professionals. Key messages Rigorous evaluation is not sufficiently used to enhance the quality of public health education. More frequent use of rigorous evaluation in public health education would enhance the quality of public health workforce, and enable cross-disciplinary and international collaboration for solidarity.

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