scholarly journals “Tell Me About Yourself” - Using eportfolio as a Tool to Integrate Learning and Position Students for Employment, a Case from the Queen's University Master of Public Health Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Melles ◽  
Andrew B Leger ◽  
Leigha Covell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Santé Publique ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Electronic Evidence ◽  
Queen's University ◽  
Groupe De Discussion ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sante Publique

This paper explores the use of eportfolio to develop, demonstrate and promote core competencies in a Professional Master of Public Health (MPH) program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Piloted in 2016, the MPH Competency eportfolio is described as a purposeful collection of electronic evidence that demonstrates learning and achievement in public health over time. The eportfolio was framed both as a reflective learning process and a showcase product to demonstrate skills and competencies to potential employers. The eportfolio was implemented using an available tool on Queen’s University’s Learning Management System. To understand the impact of the eportfolio, students responded to a questionnaire and participated in a focus group. Themes identified from the student responses were: eportfolio helped students integrate and reflect on their learning and experience. eportfolio helped students to position their professional identity and experience for employers. Students were more convinced of the value of eportfolio as a reflection tool than as a showcase product for a professional setting. Students were not convinced that employers will actually look at an eportfolio. The technology used in this study was limiting for students. Students were interested in using other established and more user-friendly platforms. The findings of this study will benefit any program or course of study seeking a means to help students integrate their learning and demonstrate their accomplishments, skills, and competencies. This paper addresses how to integrate eportfolio at the program level and also provides insight into the student experience of their use. Cet article explore l’emploi d’un eportfolio pour développer, démontrer et promouvoir les compétences de base offertes dans un programme de maîtrise professionnelle en santé publique à l’Université Queen’s, à Kingston, en Ontario, au Canada. Le programme pilote, un eportfolio des compétences pour la maîtrise en santé publique, a été lancé en 2016. On le décrit comme un recueil ciblé de preuves électroniques qui démontrent l’apprentissage et les réussites en santé publique au fil des ans. On dit également que le eportfolio est à la fois un processus d’apprentissage par la réflexion ainsi qu’un produit phare qui permet de démontrer les aptitudes et les compétences aux employeurs potentiels. Le eportfolio a été mis en oeuvre grâce aux outils disponibles dans le système de gestion de l’apprentissage de l’Université Queen’s. Afin de comprendre l’impact du eportfolio, les étudiants ont répondu à un questionnaire et ont participé à un groupe de discussion. Les thèmes identifiés à partir des réponses des étudiants sont les suivants : Le eportfolio a aidé les étudiants à intégrer leur apprentissage et leurs expériences et à y réfléchir. Le eportfolio a aidé les étudiants à positionner leur identité et leurs expériences professionnelles à l’intention des employeurs. Les étudiants étaient davantage convaincus de la valeur du eportfolio en tant qu’outil de réflexion plutôt qu’en tant que produit phare pour un milieu professionnel. Les étudiants n’étaient pas convaincus que les employeurs allaient réellement examiner un eportfolio. La technologie employée dans cette étude était limitative pour les étudiants. Les étudiants étaient intéressés à utiliser d’autres plate-formes établies et plus faciles à employer. Les résultats de cette étude seront utiles pour n’importe quel programme ou n’importe quel cours qui vise à trouver un moyen d’aider les étudiants à intégrer leur apprentissage et à démontrer leurs réussites, leurs aptitudes et leurs compétences. Cet article explique comment intégrer un eportfolio dans un programme et fournit également des renseignements sur l’expérience des étudiants qui l’ont utilisé.

scholarly journals Salmonella Kentucky: prevalence and challenges in Nigeria and the Africa continent

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 272-283
Author(s):  
E.E. Igomu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Santé Publique ◽  
Facteurs De Risque ◽  
Immune Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hiv Aids ◽  
Sante Publique

Salmonella Kentucky is ubiquitous in most African countries and the multidrug resistant (MDR) strains remain underreported across the continent. In Nigeria, poverty, inter country livestock trades, nomadic system of cattle production, indiscriminate use of antibiotics and prevalent immuno-compromising diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and tuberculosis are factors that have enabled ease of transmission and complications of S. Kentucky infections. In the present decade, S. Kentucky is reported to be the most prevalent serovar associated with poultry in Nigeria, but very few reports underline the risk associated with consumption of poultry and acquisition of MDR S. Kentucky strains. The Nigerian poultry is one of the most commercialized subsectors of Nigerian agriculture, therefore, the presence of S. Kentucky especially strains carrying broad spectrum antimicrobial resistance pose a great risk to public health. The lack of proper monitoring, surveillance, isolation and control of the multidrug resistant S. Kentucky will remain a challenge to the export potential of the Nigerian poultry subsector and livestock in general. As a nation, modalities and actions against the smuggling of poultry products, indiscriminate use of antibiotics and nomadic system for the production of dairy and beef that promotes spread of virulent strains of Salmonellae must change. The impact of non-typhoidal salmonellosis in humans in Nigeria also remains under studied and under reported, especially those caused by S. Kentucky ST198. Compounding these concerns is the lack of commercial veterinary or human vaccines against S. Kentucky or where vaccines against the broad serogroup C non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) are available, they are rarely supplied, with no evidence they could be cross-protective. This review emphasizes the emergence and widespread occurrence of MDR S. Kentucky strains on the African continent, and discussed risk factors contributing to its spread in Nigeria and the potential public health challenge especially to high-risk immunocompromised individuals. Keywords: Salmonella Kentucky, ST198 strain, multidrug resistant, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Nigeria, Africa French Title: Salmonella Kentucky: prévalence et défis au Nigeria et sur le continent africain Salmonella Kentucky est omniprésente dans la plupart des pays africains et les souches multirésistantes (MDR) restent sous-déclarées à travers le continent. Au Nigéria, la pauvreté, les échanges de bétail entre pays, le système d'élevage nomade, l'utilisation aveugle d'antibiotiques et les maladies immunodéprimantes prévalentes telles que le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine/le syndrome d'immunodéficience acquise (VIH/SIDA) et la tuberculose sont des facteurs qui ont facilité la transmission et complications des infections à S. Kentucky. Au cours de la présente décennie, S. Kentucky serait le sérotype le plus répandu associé à la volaille au Nigéria, mais très peu de rapports soulignent le risque associé à la consommation de volaille et à l'acquisition de souches MDR S. Kentucky. La volaille nigériane est l'un des sous-secteurs les plus commercialisés de l'agriculture nigériane, par conséquent, la présence de S. Kentucky, en particulier les souches présentant une résistance antimicrobienne à large spectre, pose un grand risque pour la santé publique. L'absence de suivi, de surveillance, d'isolement et de contrôle adéquats du S. Kentucky multirésistant résistera toujours au défi du potentiel d'exportation du sous-secteur de la volaille nigérian et du bétail en général. En tant que nation, les modalités et les actions contre la contrebande de produits de volaille, l'utilisation aveugle d'antibiotiques et le système nomade pour la production de produits laitiers et de boeuf qui favorisent la propagation de souches virulentes de salmonelles doivent changer. L'impact de la salmonellose non typhoïde chez l'homme au Nigeria reste également sous-étudié et sous-signalé, en particulier ceux causés par S. Kentucky ST198. À ces inquiétudes s'ajoute le manque de vaccins commerciaux vétérinaires ou humains contre S. Kentucky ou là où des vaccins contre les Salmonella non typhoïde du sérogroupe C sont disponibles, ils sont rarement fournis, sans aucune preuve qu'ils pourraient être de protection croisée. Cette revue met l'accent sur l'émergence et la présence généralisée de souches MDR S. Kentucky sur le continent africain, et a discuté des facteurs de risque contribuant à sa propagation au Nigéria et du défi potentiel de santé publique en particulier pour les personnes immunodéprimées à haut risque. Mots-clés: Salmonella Kentucky, souche ST198, multirésistante, tuberculose, VIH/SIDA, Nigéria, Afrique  

scholarly journals Collaboration, Competencies and the Classroom: A Public Health Approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Wallar ◽  
Andrew Papadopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Santé Publique ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Core ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Sante Publique

The University of Guelph Master of Public Health program is a professional degree program that seeks to prepare graduates to meet complex public health needs by developing their proficiency in the 36 public health core competencies. Provision of experiential learning opportunities, such as a semester-long practicum, is part of student development. In the Fall 2013 semester, a new opportunity was introduced in which small groups of students were paired with local public health professionals to complete a capstone business plan assignment that addressed a current public health issue. However, the impact of this external collaboration on the student learning experience was unknown. To address this, quantitative and qualitative information about students’ perceived proficiency in the core competencies and their learning experiences was collected using a pre/post survey and focus groups, respectively. A post-assignment survey was also administered to participating local public health professionals in which they assessed their group’s proficiency in the core competencies, and provided additional feedback. The results of this study showed that students had unique learning experiences with enhanced proficiency in different areas including policy and program planning, implementation and evaluation, assessment and analysis, and partnerships, collaboration and advocacy. Managing and communicating expectations was important throughout the learning experience. By using realistic community-based assignments, graduate public health programs can enrich students’ learning experiences by creating an environment for students to apply their classroom knowledge and gain practical knowledge and skills. Le programme de maîtrise en santé publique de l’Université de Guelph est un programme menant à l’obtention d’un grade professionnel qui prépare les diplômés à répondre aux besoins complexes en santé publique et leur permet d’acquérir 36 compétences principales en santé publique. Le développement des étudiants comprend des occasions d’apprentissage par l’expérience, telles que des stages d’une durée d’un semestre. Au cours du semestre d’automne 2013, une nouvelle occasion a été inaugurée, selon laquelle de petits groupes d’étudiants ont été jumelés avec des professionnels en santé publique de la localité afin de mettre au point un plan d’affaires cadre qui réponde à une question de santé publique qui se posait à ce moment-là. Toutefois, l’impact de cette collaboration externe sur l’apprentissage des étudiants restait inconnu. Pour répondre à cette question, des renseignements quantitatifs et qualitatifs sur la manière dont les étudiants ont perçu l’acquisition de leurs compétences dans les domaines principaux de compétences, ainsi que des détails sur leurs expériences d’apprentissage, ont été recueillis par le biais de sondages menés avant et après l’expérimentation ainsi que par des groupes cibles. Un sondage mené après l’expérimentation a également été mené auprès des professionnels en santé publique de la localité, dans lequel ceux-ci ont évalué les acquisitions de leur groupe dans les compétences principales, et ont fourni des commentaires supplémentaires. Les résultats de cette étude ont montré que les étudiants ont vécu des expériences d’apprentissage uniques qui ont amélioré leurs compétences dans divers domaines, y compris la planification de programmes et de politiques, la mise en oeuvre et l’évaluation, l’estimation et l’analyse, ainsi que les partenariats, la collaboration et le rôle de la promotion. La gestion et la communication des attentes ont été importantes tout au long de l’expérience d’apprentissage. Le fait d’utiliser des tâches réalistes basées dans la communauté permet aux programmes de santé publique de cycles supérieurs d’enrichir l’expérience d’apprentissage des étudiants car cela crée un environnement dans lequel les étudiants mettent en application des connaissances apprises en salle de classe et acquièrent des connaissances et des compétences pratiques.

scholarly journals Dual MD–MPH Degree Students in the United States: Moving the Medical Workforce Toward Population Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492097842
Author(s):  
Jo Marie Reilly ◽  
Christine M. Plepys ◽  
Michael R. Cousineau
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
The Impact

Objective A growing need exists to train physicians in population health to meet the increasing need and demand for physicians with leadership, health data management/metrics, and epidemiology skills to better serve the health of the community. This study examines current trends in students pursuing a dual doctor of medicine (MD)–master of public health (MPH) degree (MD–MPH) in the United States. Methods We conducted an extensive literature review of existing MD–MPH databases to determine characteristics (eg, sex, race/ethnicity, MPH area of study) of this student cohort in 2019. We examined a trend in the MD community to pursue an MPH career, adding additional public health and health care policy training to the MD workforce. We conducted targeted telephone interviews with 20 admissions personnel and faculty at schools offering MD–MPH degrees in the United States with the highest number of matriculants and graduates. Interviews focused on curricula trends in medical schools that offer an MD–MPH degree. Results No literature describes the US MD–MPH cohort, and available MD–MPH databases are limited and incomplete. We found a 434% increase in the number of students pursuing an MD–MPH degree from 2010 to 2018. The rate of growth was greater than the increase in either the number of medical students (16%) or the number of MPH students (65%) alone. Moreover, MD–MPH students as a percentage of total MPH students more than tripled, from 1.1% in 2010 to 3.6% in 2018. Conclusions As more MD students pursue public health training, the impact of an MPH degree on medical school curricula, MD–MPH graduates, and MD–MPH career pursuits should be studied using accurate and comprehensive databases.

The Use of Twitter as an Interactive Learning Tool Within a Postgraduate Public Health Course: A Pilot Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 237337992097842
Author(s):  
Rimante Ronto ◽  
Alexandra Bhatti ◽  
Josephine Chau
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Learning Tool ◽  
Interactive Approach ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact

Twitter has gained attention in recent years as a tool to use in higher education to enhance students’ learning, engagement, and reflective writing. This study explored public health students’ perceptions on the usefulness of Twitter as a learning tool, engagement with their peers, staff, and the broader public health community. Participants were Master of Public Health students from a public university based in Sydney, Australia. A mixed methods approach was used combining content analysis of tweets, an online survey and two focus groups. Students were asked to engage with Twitter by reflecting on each week’s teaching content and by liking and replying to their peers’ tweets. Participation and engagement in this task were high initially and declined toward the end of semester. Most student tweets aligned with topics taught during the semester. Survey and focus group data indicated most students had positive views on using Twitter and reported finding engagement with Twitter beneficial in obtaining current information on health promotion news and trends, increasing their professional networks and allowing them to connect with their peers and teaching staff. Results indicate Twitter is a promising interactive approach to enhance public health students’ engagement and overall learning experience, as well as being useful for professional networking. Larger scale empirical studies are needed to investigate the impact of the use of social media platforms such as Twitter to various learning outcomes longitudinally and beyond this course.

A content analysis of Canadian master of public health course descriptions and core competencies

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Apatu ◽  
W Sinnott ◽  
T Piggott ◽  
D Butler-Jones ◽  
L N Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Program Planning ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Competency Based

Abstract Background The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a common graduate-level professional degree that is offered by Canadian Universities. To date, few studies have examined competency-based MPH education in Canada. Objective To examine the degree to which MPH programs' course descriptions align with the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) core competency categories in order to identify strengths and training gaps in such programs across Canada. Methods A content analysis of MPH programs in Canada was conducted from July 2019 to November 2019. A sampling frame of programs was obtained from a list from the PHAC website. Program information, including mandatory and elective course descriptions was extracted from each program's website and analyzed in NVivo 12. Course descriptions were independently categorized by two researchers into one or more of the seven categories of the core competencies outlined by PHAC. Results We identified 18 universities with MPH programs with 267 courses across Canada. Thematic analysis revealed that 100% of programs had coursework that addressed the “Public Health Sciences” and “Assessment and Analysis” categories; 93% addressed “Policy and Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation”; 67% addressed each of “Communication,” “Leadership,” and “Partnerships, Collaboration, and Advocacy”; and only 56% had course descriptions addressing “Diversity and Inclusiveness.” Conclusions We find that Canadian MPH programs may lack course offerings addressing core competency categories relating to diversity and inclusiveness, communication, and leadership. Our findings were limited in scope as we relied on program Web sites; thus, further research should explore course content in more depth than this course description analysis allowed and identify ways to close the MPH curricular gaps we identified. Key messages Further research should be conducted to determine if the current model of competency education in Canada is successfully guiding MPH programs in meeting local and international workforce demands. Continued discussion is needed to raise the importance of MPH competency-based education in Canada.

scholarly journals Implementation of a national epidemiological surveillance of prison suicide in France

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Chan Chee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Santé Publique ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Public Health Priority ◽  
Health Priority ◽  
Epidemiologic Surveillance ◽  
Prison Health ◽  
Sante Publique

Abstract Context Worldwide, suicide is a leading cause of death in prison. In France, suicide of prisoners accounts for more than 100 deaths per year representing about half of the total deaths in prison. Moreover, suicide rates in French prisons are seven times higher than in the community and are among the highest in Europe. Reducing prison suicide is a public health priority inscribed in a joint action plan of both the Ministries of health and of justice. In order to prevent this tragic loss of life, prison services and health services must collaborate for the monitoring and understanding of the risk factors involved. The aims of an epidemiologic surveillance of prison suicide are to gather information about the medical factors and factors related to prison environment, analyze them and eventually produce recommendations for prevention. Methods After months of consultation between Santé publique France, different administrations and professionals working in prison, a common methodology was set up. As from January 2017, whenever a suicide or suspected death occurs in prison, the Direction of the Prison Administration (DAP) informs Santé publique France, who in turn sends to the medical practitioner in charge of the prison health services a questionnaire including the history before detention: morbidity, addiction, attempted suicide, and during detention: contact with prison health services, diagnosis and final contact prior to death. Each year, the DAP sends to Santé publique France the sociodemographic, administrative, judiciary and prison environmental data of the persons. Results In 2017, data were collected for 106 suicides from 71 prisons: 95% males, 49% remand, 44% murder or sexual assault, median incarceration time 96 days. Questionnaires were returned from prison practitioners for 100 cases (94%): regular contact 83%, prior suicide attempt 23%. Conclusions Feasibility of a prison suicide surveillance is only possible with the implication of both prison and health services. Key messages Reducing death by suicide in prison is a public health priority. Feasibility of a prison suicide surveillance is only possible with the implication of both prison and health services.

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