scholarly journals Lessons Learned From a Peer Writing Coach Program in a School of Public Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
pp. 700-707
Author(s):  
Jennifer Beard ◽  
Ryann Monteiro ◽  
Mahogany B. Price-Oreyomi ◽  
Vanessa Boland Edouard ◽  
Mary Murphy-Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
First Year ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Development Organization ◽  
School Of Public Health ◽  
Coach Program ◽  
Academic Year

Clear writing is a critical component of public health research and practice. The ability to convey information in a concise, engaging, and insightful manner influences stakeholder engagement and is the backbone of program and policy development, organization, and implementation. To help master of public health (MPH) students adapt their writing skills to these specialized demands, Boston University School of Public Health launched the Peer Writing Coach Program in 2010 staffed by MPH students. The service is open to all students enrolled in public health classes. They can schedule up to 2 appointments per assignment for both individual and team papers. Student use increased from 55 appointments in academic year 2010-2011 (the first year of the program) to 767 appointments in academic year 2017-2018. For the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 academic years, 1128 (74%) of 1530 appointment requests asked for assistance “writing clearly and concisely,” 886 (58%) for assistance “organizing and synthesizing main points of argument,” and 529 (35%) for assistance “tailoring writing for a specific audience.” This case study describes the rationale for creating the program, outlines the chronology of its development since 2010, and provides an overview of peer coach training, student use, and lessons learned as we addressed logistical challenges.

scholarly journals Dual Master of Social Work – Master of Public Health (MSW/MPH)

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 478-492
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Reeves ◽  
Trina Colleen Salm Ward
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Master Of Social Work ◽  
Evaluation Plan ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Mph Program ◽  
Minimal Research ◽  
The U.S

While there has been a proliferation of MSW/MPH programs concurrent with dramatic changes in the U.S. health system, there is minimal research on these programs. The purpose of this article is to describe the conceptualization, development, and implementation of an innovative MSW/MPH program at a southeastern university—the only such program in the state. Our goal as the first two directors of the program, serving consecutively, is to share knowledge and offer “lessons learned” for universities seeking to develop or enhance an MSW/MPH program, as well as agencies interested in forming collaborative partnerships. “Lessons learned” include the importance of strong ongoing communication among all MSW/MPH stakeholders, thoughtful consideration of the time demands associated with the program director’s role, viewing a developmental evaluation plan as a critical component for success, and recognizing the benefits of purposeful linkages between the two disciplines.

scholarly journals Increasing Community Research Capacity to Address Health Disparities

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goldie Komaie ◽  
Christine C. Ekenga ◽  
Vetta L. Sanders Thompson ◽  
Melody S. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Public Health Training

The Community Research Fellows Training program is designed to enhance capacity for community-based participatory research; program participants completed a 15-week, Master of Public Health curriculum. We conducted qualitative, semistructured interviews with 81 participants from two cohorts to evaluate the learning environment and how the program improved participants’ knowledge of public health research. Key areas that provided a conducive learning environment included the once-a-week schedule, faculty and participant diversity, and community-focused homework assignments. Participants discussed how the program enhanced their understanding of the research process and raised awareness of public health–related issues for application in their personal lives, professional occupations, and in their communities. These findings highlight key programmatic elements of a successful public health training program for community residents.

scholarly journals Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 286-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Castillo-Salgado
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Urban Health ◽  
Operational Research ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Geographic Coverage ◽  
School Of Public Health ◽  
And Training

Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

scholarly journals The Utility of Rural and Underserved Designations in Geospatial Assessments of Distance Traveled to Healthcare Services: Implications for Public Health Research and Practice

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Lee Smith ◽  
Justin B. Dickerson ◽  
Monica L. Wendel ◽  
SangNam Ahn ◽  
Jairus C. Pulczinski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Prescription Medication ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Cluster Representation ◽  
Profile Characteristics

Health disparities research in rural populations is based on several common taxonomies identified by geography and population density. However, little is known about the implications of different rurality definitions on public health outcomes. To help illuminate the meaning of different rural designations often used in research, service delivery, or policy reports, this study will (1) review the different definitions of rurality and their purposes; (2) identify the overlap of various rural designations in an eight-county Brazos Valley region in Central Texas; (3) describe participant characteristic profiles based on distances traveled to obtain healthcare services; and (4) examine common profile characteristics associated with each designation. Data were analyzed from a random sample from 1,958 Texas adults participating in a community assessment. K-means cluster analysis was used to identify natural groupings of individuals based on distance traveled to obtain three healthcare services: medical care, dental care, and prescription medication pick-up. Significant variation in cluster representation and resident characteristics was observed by rural designation. Given widely used taxonomies for designating areas as rural (or provider shortage) in health-related research, this study highlights differences that could influence research results and subsequent program and policy development based on rural designation.

scholarly journals Lessons Learned from a Writing to Learn Program for Public Health Students at the University of Tokyo

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110320
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Okuhara ◽  
Hiroko Okada ◽  
Takahiro Kiuchi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Writing To Learn ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Main Target ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Curse Of Knowledge ◽  
The University ◽  
Learn Approach

We have taught writing for public health to students completing a Master of Public Health since 2016 in Japan. We adopted a writing-to-learn approach and assigned work to students to write health materials that encourage recipients to perform health behaviors (eg, drafting a poster to encourage lay audiences to adopt preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic). We collected students’ work assignments and products from 2016 to 2020 and reviewed them to identify distinctive trends common to all years. We found that there was a curse of knowledge (ie, difficulties to imagine the state of mind of not knowing when knowing something) among students. Students strongly embraced the adage “knowledge is power” and underestimated the difficulties lay audiences face. Their writing was somewhat dogmatic, whereby experts imparted privileged knowledge to ignorant non-experts. However, it is well known that merely imparting knowledge often does not work to educate lay audiences about making better decisions. Debiasing this curse of knowledge among students will be the main target of our writing education.

scholarly journals Avatar Web-Based Self-Report Survey System Technology for Public Health Research: Technical Outcome Results and Lessons Learned

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Savel ◽  
Stan Mierzwa ◽  
Pamina M Gorbach ◽  
Samir Souidi ◽  
Michelle Lally ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Survey System ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Self Report Data

This paper reports on a specific Web-based self-report data collection system that was developed for a public health research study in the United States. Our focus is on technical outcome results and lessons learned that may be useful to other projects requiring such a solution. The system was accessible from any device that had a browser that can support HTML5. Report findings include: which hardware devices, Web browsers, and operating systems were used, the rate of survey completion, and key considerations for employing Web-based surveys in a clinical trial setting. 

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