scholarly journals Key lessons for designing health literacy professional development courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucio Naccarella ◽  
Bernice Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Learning Design ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Future Health

Health literacy courses for health professionals have emerged in response to health professionals’ perceived lack of understanding of health literacy issues, and their failure to routinely adopt health literacy practices. Since 2013 in Victoria, Australia, the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health has delivered an annual health literacy demonstration training course that it developed. Course development and delivery partners included HealthWest Partnership and cohealth. The courses are designed to develop the health literacy knowledge, skills and organisational capacity of the health and community services sector in the western metropolitan region of Melbourne. This study presents key learnings from evaluation data from three health literacy courses using Wenger’s professional educational learning design framework. The framework has three educational learning architecture components (engagement, imagination and alignment) and four educational learning architecture dimensions (participation, emergent, local/global, identification). Participatory realist evaluation approaches and qualitative methods were used. The evaluations revealed that the health literacy courses are developing leadership in health literacy, building partnerships among course participants, developing health literacy workforce knowledge and skills, developing ways to use and apply health literacy resources and are serving as a catalyst for building organisational infrastructure. Although the courses were not explicitly developed or implemented using Wenger’s educational learning design pedagogic features, the course structure (i.e. facilitation role of course coordinators, providing safe learning environments, encouraging small group work amongst participants, requiring participants to conduct mini-projects and sponsor organisation buy-in) provided opportunities for engagement, imagination and alignment. Wenger’s educational learning design framework can inform the design of future key pedagogic features of health literacy courses. What is known about the topic? Health professionals are increasingly participating in health literacy professional development courses. What does this paper add? This paper provides key lessons for designing health literacy professional development courses by reflecting upon Wenger’s professional educational learning design framework. What are the implications for practitioners? To ensure health professionals are receiving evidence-informed health literacy professional education, we encourage future health literacy courses be designed, implemented and evaluated using existing professional educational learning design frameworks.

scholarly journals Transforming health professionals into population health change agents

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucio Naccarella ◽  
Iain Butterworth ◽  
Timothy Moore
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Short Courses ◽  
Evaluation Approaches

<em>Background</em>. With the recognition that professional education has not kept pace with the challenges facing the health and human service system, there has been a move to transformative education and learning professional development designed to expand the number of enlightened and empowered change agents with the competence to implement changes at an individual, organisation and systems level. <br /><em>Design and Methods.</em> Since 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria, Australia, in collaboration with The University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health, has delivered seven population health short courses aimed to catalyse participants’ transformation into population health change agents. This paper presents key learnings from a combination of evaluation data from six population health short courses using a transformative learning framework from a 2010 independent international commission for health professionals that was designed to support the goals of transformative and interdependent health professionals. Participatory realist evaluation approaches and qualitative methods were used. <br /><em>Results</em>. Evaluation findings reveal that there were mixed outcomes in facilitating participants’ implementation of population health approaches, and their transformation into population health agents upon their return to their workplaces. Core enablers, barriers and requirements, at individual, organisational and system levels influence the capability of participants to implement population health approaches. The iterative and systemic evolution of the population health short courses, from a one off event to a program of inter-dependent modules, demonstrates sustained commitment by the short course developers and organisers to the promotion of transformative population health learning outcomes. <br /><em>Conclusions</em>: To leverage this commitment, recognising that professional development is not an event but part of an ongoing transformative process, suggestions to further align recognition of population health professional development programs are presented.

Equity in the Classroom and the Clinic: Understanding the Role of Sociology in Health Professional Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 0092055X2110533
Author(s):  
Ann Taylor ◽  
Caragh Brosnan ◽  
Gwendalyn Webb
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Future Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Conversation Piece ◽  
Reflective Skills

Sociology teachers often encounter students studying to be future health professionals; sociology content can assist students to increase their understanding of patients, the social context of health and illness, and the social determinants of health. Engaging these students in sociological thinking can be challenging because of their diverse social locations and their identification with their future profession, which may emphasize clinical competence over broader reflective skills. In this conversation piece, we encourage critical reflection on the assumptions that underpin the teaching of sociology to aspiring health professionals. Through case studies of nursing, medicine, and speech-language pathology, we consider differences in the social locations of students and how sociological ideas are received by these professions. We argue that sociology teachers can assist health professions students to gain more from sociology by understanding these student cohorts and by reflexively considering power relations between teachers and students and between disciplines and professions.

Humor, Well-Being, and Health Literacy

2022 ◽  
pp. 256-272
Author(s):  
Patrícia Rodrigues ◽  
Manuela Soares Rodrigues ◽  
Diana Pinheiro ◽  
Cecília Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Difficult Situations

Health influences general well-being, and well-being affects future health. Oral health professionals report a decreased well-being and a higher burnout. This chapter measures and evaluates the perception of the health professional and the patient about factors of stress and well-being. It evaluates the strategies used to overcome the anxiety and stress that involve the meeting. Two surveys applied by questionnaire, with face-to-face and online dissemination, the first to patients and second to dentists, were done. Of the 245 patients, 46% consider themselves to be anxious. The instruments used in a clinical environment cause discomfort, and their noise is the predominant cause for this fear. Of the 306 dentists, 80% show the ability to face difficult situations. Finally, 90% have an awareness that contributes to the well-being of others. Oral health professionals should prepare themselves with techniques to develop a therapeutic relationship that is more positive, calm, and less stressful.

Building health literacy responsiveness in Melbourne’s west: a systems approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindy L. Allott ◽  
Tanya Sofra ◽  
Gail O'Donnell ◽  
Jeremy L. Hearne ◽  
Lucio Naccarella
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Regional Health ◽  
Health Literacy Responsiveness

With high health inequities among some population groups, health professionals and organisations are increasingly taking action on health literacy. This case study demonstrates how a systems approach to health literacy responsiveness created change across a region. From 2013 to 2017 the Health Literacy Development Project incorporating a training course and community of practice (the Project) targeted the health and community services system in Melbourne’s west. The Project created a ripple effect that built health literacy responsiveness at the individual and organisational level. This contributed to increased use of health literacy practices and led to systems change across the region. Creating change within the health and community services system is extremely challenging. This case study provides some evidence that a systems approach can support change in the health literacy responsiveness of a regional health and community services system over a 4-year timeframe. What is known about the topic? Health professionals and organisations are increasingly looking to use systems approaches to take action on health literacy. Health literacy responsiveness is an emerging field with limited peer-reviewed studies available. What does this paper add? This case study offers insights into how a systems approach to health literacy responsiveness can support change within a regional health and community services system. What are the implications for practitioners? A systems approach is a viable and realistic approach for public health practitioners seeking to improve health literacy responsiveness within a region by building workforce capability and embedding health literacy practices within organisations.

scholarly journals Health literacy education programmes developed for qualified health professionals: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Lauren Connell ◽  
Yvonne Finn ◽  
Rosie Dunne ◽  
Jane Sixsmith
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Health Professional Education ◽  
Scoping Reviews

Introduction: Health professional education for health literacy has been identified as having the potential to improve patient outcomes and has been recognized as such in policy developments. Health literacy is an emerging concept encompassing individuals’ skills and how health information is processed in relation to the demands and complexities of the surrounding environment. Focus has been predominantly on the dimension of functional health literacy (reading, writing and numeracy), although increasing emphasis has been placed on interactive and critical domains. Such dimensions can guide the development of health professional education programmes and bridge the gap in the interaction between health professionals and their patients. Currently little is known about qualified health professional’s education for health literacy, its development, implementation or evaluation. Aim: To identify and map current educational interventions to improve health literacy competencies and communication skills of qualified health professionals. Methods: A scoping review will be conducted drawing on methods and guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute, and will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. This study will retrieve literature on health professional education for health literacy through a comprehensive search strategy in the following databases: CINAHL; Medline (Ovid); the Cochrane Library; EMBASE; ERIC; UpToDate; PsycINFO and Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Grey literature will be searched within the references of identified articles: Lenus; ProQuest E-Thesis Portal; the HSE health research repository and RIAN. A data charting form will be developed with categories agreed by the research team, including: article details, demographics, intervention details, implementation and evaluation methods. Conclusion: Little is known about the extent and nature of the current evidence base therefore in order to identify programmes and consolidate their demographics and characteristics within health literacy competencies and communication skills, a scoping review is warranted.

scholarly journals Health literacy education programmes developed for qualified health professionals: a scoping review protocol

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Lauren Connell ◽  
Yvonne Finn ◽  
Rosie Dunne ◽  
Jane Sixsmith
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Health Professional Education

Introduction: Health literacy education, for health professionals, has been identified as having the potential to improve patient outcomes and has been recognized as such in policy developments. Health literacy, as a relational concept, encompasses individuals’ skills and how health information is processed in relation to the demands and complexities of the surrounding environment. Focus has been predominantly on the dimension of functional health literacy (reading, writing and numeracy), although increasing emphasis has been placed on interactive and critical domains. Such dimensions often guide the development of health professional education programmes, where the aim is to enhance the patient-practitioner relationship, and ultimately reduce the health literacy burden experienced by patients navigating health services. Currently little is known about qualified health professionals’ education in health literacy and communication skills, and development, implementation or evaluation of such interventions. Aim: To identify and map current educational interventions to improve health literacy competencies and communication skills of qualified health professionals. Methods: A scoping review will be conducted drawing on methods and guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute, and will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. This study will retrieve literature on health professional education for health literacy and communication skills through a comprehensive search strategy in the following databases: CINAHL; Medline (Ovid); the Cochrane Library; EMBASE; ERIC; UpToDate; PsycINFO. Grey literature will be searched within the references of identified articles; Lenus; ProQuest E-Thesis Portal; RIAN and OpenGrey. A data charting form will be developed with categories including: article details, demographics, intervention details, implementation and evaluation methods. Conclusion: Little is known about the extent and nature of the current evidence base therefore a scoping review will be conducted, in order to identify programme characteristics in relation to health literacy competencies and communication skills.

scholarly journals Evaluation of population health short courses: implications for developing and evaluating population health professional development initiatives

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Lucio Naccarella ◽  
Louise Greenstock ◽  
Iain Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
System Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Short Course ◽  
Short Courses ◽  
Evaluation Approaches

Population health as an approach to planning is key to improving the health and well-being of whole populations and to reduce inequities within and between population groups. The Victorian Department of Health North and West Metropolitan Region, in collaboration with The University of Melbourne (School of Population Health), have delivered four annual population health short courses. The short courses were designed to equip participants with knowledge and skills to implement population health approaches upon their return to their workplaces. For three consecutive years, online surveys (n=41) and semi-structured interviews (n=35), underpinned by participatory and realist evaluation approaches, were conducted to obtain the perceptions and experiences of the population health short course participants. Evaluation findings indicate that participants’ understanding of population health concepts increased; however, there were mixed outcomes in assisting participants’ implementation of population health approaches upon their return to their workplaces. A core list of perceived requirements, enablers and barriers emerged at an individual, organisational and system level as influencing the capability of participants to implement population health approaches. Evaluation recommendations and actions taken to revise short course iterations are presented, providing evidence that the evaluation approaches were appropriate and increased the use of evaluation learnings. Implications of evaluation findings for professional development practice (i.e. shift from a ‘Course’ as a one-off event to a Population Health ‘Program’ of inter-dependent components) and evaluation (i.e. participatory realist evaluation approaches) are presented.

scholarly journals Role of Postgraduate Education in the Provision of Social and Professional Mobility of Health Specialists

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariiana Rymarchuk ◽  
Liubomyr Vakaliuk
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Continuous Professional Development ◽  
Interactive Methods ◽  
Professional Mobility

Nowadays the development of a modern information society, the intensity of accumulating the latest professional information and systematic obsolescence of professional knowledge necessitate a constant and continuous learning of a 21st-century specialist. The transition to lifelong learning, when basic education is periodically subjected to additions and adjustments that requires graduates of higher education institutions to master professional knowledge, as well as to form social and professional mobility, is now recognized by the analysts as a solution of this problem. According to researchers, social and professional mobility of health specialists consists in their ability to overcome stereotypes, assimilate new technologies and solve professional problems in accordance with modern socio-cultural and economic conditions. In Ukraine, the development of social and professional mobility of future health specialists is directly related to the implementation of the system of continuous professional development of health professionals. The introduction of the problem-solving techniques during postgraduate study enhances the professional training of doctors, that, in its turn, will allow them to effectively use knowledge gained in daily practice. Interactive methods such as case method, role playing games, management games, brainstorming, disputes, discussions, critical incident techniques, project-based learning, competitive learning, small-group learning with elements of management game or carousel strategy, method of interdisciplinary conference with elements of discussion are considered as an effective tool for problem-based learning within health professional education. Thus, the contribution of postgraduate education to the provision of continuous professional development of health professionals creates optimal conditions for the formation of social and professional mobility of health specialists.

scholarly journals Education Into Policy: Embedding Health Informatics to Prepare Future Nurses—New Zealand Case Study

JMIR Nursing ◽  
10.2196/16186 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e16186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Honey ◽  
Emma Collins ◽  
Sally Britnell
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Nursing Informatics ◽  
Future Health

Background Preparing emerging health professionals for practicing in an ever-changing health care environment along with continually evolving technology is an international concern. This is particularly pertinent for nursing because nurses make up the largest part of the health workforce. Objective This study aimed to explore how health informatics can be included in undergraduate health professional education. Methods A case study approach was used to consider health informatics within undergraduate nursing education in New Zealand. This has led to the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice. Results The process used to develop nursing informatics guidelines for entry to practice in New Zealand is described. The final guidelines are based on the literature and are refined using an advisory group and an iterative process. Conclusions Although this study describes the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice, the challenge is to move these guidelines from educational rhetoric to policy. It is only by ensuring that health informatics is embedded in the undergraduate education of all health professionals can we be assured that future health professionals are prepared to work effectively, efficiently, and safely with information and communication technologies as part of their practice.

scholarly journals Education Into Policy: Embedding Health Informatics to Prepare Future Nurses—New Zealand Case Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Honey ◽  
Emma Collins ◽  
Sally Britnell
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Nursing Informatics ◽  
Future Health

BACKGROUND Preparing emerging health professionals for practicing in an ever-changing health care environment along with continually evolving technology is an international concern. This is particularly pertinent for nursing because nurses make up the largest part of the health workforce. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore how health informatics can be included in undergraduate health professional education. METHODS A case study approach was used to consider health informatics within undergraduate nursing education in New Zealand. This has led to the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice. RESULTS The process used to develop nursing informatics guidelines for entry to practice in New Zealand is described. The final guidelines are based on the literature and are refined using an advisory group and an iterative process. CONCLUSIONS Although this study describes the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice, the challenge is to move these guidelines from educational rhetoric to policy. It is only by ensuring that health informatics is embedded in the undergraduate education of all health professionals can we be assured that future health professionals are prepared to work effectively, efficiently, and safely with information and communication technologies as part of their practice.

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