scholarly journals Learner-Centered Teaching to Educate College Students about Rural Health Disparities

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuli Njoku ◽  

Geographically, rural U.S. communities have higher rates of disease and health problems, compared to urban areas. This encourages development of effective, learner-centred curricula to enable students to address disparate health outcomes as future health professionals. This three-year study evaluated the effect of an undergraduate rural public health course on health disparities-related perceptions among students at a rural Midwestern U.S. university. Students reported statistically significant increases in mean scores for several survey items pre- to post-survey. Post-survey response rate was 90%. This paper details the processes, outcomes, and lessons learned from incorporating learner-centred strategies to teach health disparities material in a rural public health course.

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuli Njoku ◽  
Fathima Wakeel

Preventable differences in health outcomes between U.S. population subgroups, related to factors such as race or ethnicity, income, and geographic location, are troubling. Geographically, rural American communities experience higher rates of adverse health conditions when compared with urban areas, further widening disparities in health outcomes. Such disparities necessitate the creation of effective curricula to enable students to address the health needs of underserved populations. By intentionally incorporating health disparities awareness content into the curricula, undergraduate and graduate public health programs can play an integral role in developing conscious health practitioners to help close gaps in health outcomes. Moreover, rural health courses may increase students’ interest in rural health careers. This article presents the process and results of faculty efforts to design and deliver health disparities–related education in undergraduate and graduate public health courses at a rural Midwestern U.S. university. Various teaching development programs inspired faculty to use intentional instructional approaches to teach students about health disparities. Consequently, faculty incorporated a variety of assessment methods and teaching styles to infuse health disparities awareness content into public health courses. Results from students’ course evaluations and reflections are discussed along with lessons learned and implications for future pedagogical directions.


Author(s):  
Lindsay P. Galway ◽  
Barbara Berry ◽  
Timothy Takaro

The flipped classroom instructional model has emerged as an alternative to conventional lecture-based teaching that has dominated higher education for decades. In 2013, a cohort of graduate-level public health students participated in a flipped environmental and occupational health course. We present the design, implementation, and evaluation of this course. Using data collected from a post-course survey, focus group sessions, and classroom observation, we examine student perceptions of the flipped classroom instructional model and synthesize lessons learned from flipping the classroom more broadly. Post-course survey data indicate that students had generally positive perceptions towards the flipped classroom instructional model. Four major themes emerged from the focus group data in relation to perceptions of the flipped classroom: knowledge application, content delivery, innovation, and connecting the online and in-class components. These results are promising and suggest that this approach warrants further consideration and research. Le modèle pédagogique de la classe inversée a émergé comme solution de rechange à l’enseignement traditionnel par cours magistraux qui a dominé l’éducation supérieure pendant des décennies. En 2013, une cohorte d’étudiants en santé publique aux cycles supérieurs a participé à un cours inversé sur la santé environnementale et professionnelle. Nous présentons la conception, la mise en œuvre et l’évaluation de ce cours. À l’aide de données recueillies par l’entremise d’un sondage après le cours, lors de séances de discussion en groupe et d’observation en classe, nous examinons les perceptions qu’ont les étudiants du modèle pédagogique de la classe inversée et résumons les leçons tirées qui sont pertinentes pour les cours inversés en général. Les données du sondage réalisé après le cours indiquent que les étudiants avaient des perceptions pour la plupart positives du modèle pédagogique de la classe inversée. Quatre thèmes principaux ont émergé des données du groupe de discussion relativement aux perceptions sur la classe inversée : mise en application des connaissances, diffusion du contenu, innovation et lien entre les composantes en ligne et en classe. Ces résultats sont prometteurs et suggèrent que cette approche devrait faire l’objet de plus de considération et de recherche.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
James F. Anderson ◽  
Kelley Reinsmith-Jones

Opioid addiction and abuse has become a nationwide epidemic in America. Chief among the states where this behavior is most pervasive is North Carolina. Current statistics reveal that not only are addiction, abuse, and untimely deaths owing to overdose (especially from heroin use) are found in urban areas, but these behaviors are also pervasive in rural areas of the state where health experts and criminal justice officials struggle with the challenges of addressing public health and criminal justice consequences that come with drug addiction and abuse such as treatment, prevention, and punishments, respectively. Unlike urban areas that often have adequate resources to address these concerns, this is not the case in rural areas that struggle with more addicts and offenders than resources to manage this current crisis. Because of the complexity of the opioid crisis and many of the past lessons learned from the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, we believe that society can more effectively address the new opioid epidemic by relying on both criminal justice as well as public health strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 1678-1686
Author(s):  
Erika Ziller ◽  
Carly Milkowski

The US public health community has demonstrated increasing awareness of rural health disparities in the past several years. Although current interest is high, the topic is not new, and some of the earliest public health literature includes reports on infectious disease and sanitation in rural places. Continuing through the first third of the 20th century, dozens of articles documented rural disparities in infant and maternal mortality, sanitation and water safety, health care access, and among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. Current rural research reveals similar challenges, and strategies suggested for addressing rural–urban health disparities 100 years ago resonate today. This article examines rural public health literature from a century ago and its connections to contemporary rural health disparities. We describe parallels between current and historical rural public health challenges and discuss how strategies proposed in the early 20th century may inform current policy and practice. As we explore the new frontier of rural public health, it is critical to consider enduring rural challenges and how to ensure that proposed solutions translate into actual health improvements. (Am J Public Health. 2020;110:1678–1686. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305868 )


Author(s):  
Peter H Kilmarx ◽  
Theodore Long ◽  
Michael J A Reid

Abstract A large, well-trained public health workforce is needed to control COVID-19 in the United States in the short term and to address other disease burdens and health disparities in the long run. As the public health workforce declined following the 2008 financial crisis, many U.S. jurisdiction struggled to hire a sufficient number staff for roles initially including testing and contact tracing and more recently for vaccination. Ultimately, COVID-19 control will require a combination of vaccination and rapid investigation, contact tracing, and quarantine to stop chains of transmission. New federal resources for a public health workforce have been made available. With appropriate attention to addressing administrative barriers and ensuring equity, a 21 st-century U.S. public health workforce will hasten the control of COVID-19, provide economic relief to individuals and communities, reduce the burden of other infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and other disease burdens. A long-term commitment to a robust public health workforce is vital to ensuring health security and preparedness for future health threats.


2020 ◽  
pp. 237337992096366
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Reisinger Walker ◽  
Delia L. Lang ◽  
Melissa Alperin ◽  
Milkie Vu ◽  
Caroline M. Barry ◽  
...  

Schools and programs of public health are expanding online course offerings, particularly in response to the transition to remote learning due to COVID-19. While previous research in the health professions suggests that online and in-person modalities are equally effective in supporting student learning, there is minimal evidence of this in public health education. This evaluation examines the effectiveness of newly developed online or hybrid course sections offered to Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) students enrolled in on-campus programs. We compared the effectiveness of these new offerings with that of the on-campus in-person courses and hybrid courses in the Executive MPH program. The purposes of this mixed-methods evaluation were to (1) assess student learning across the three course modalities and (2) examine student, instructor, and staff experiences with the modalities. The data included pre- and postcourse student surveys on 17 sections of five courses (precourse response rate: 51% to 98%; postcourse response rate: 12% to 57%), the participating students’ grades, five student focus groups, one focus group with academic advisors, and 11 instructor interviews. The findings indicate that the new online modality was equivalent to the in-person sections for student learning, satisfaction, and engagement. Mean student ratings of confidence in meeting the course learning objectives increased from the beginning to the end of the semester in all sections for all courses. Regardless of the modality, the students reported that the course improved their understanding of key concepts and that they were satisfied with their course. We discuss the lessons learned and recommendations for ensuring high-quality online learning experiences.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 63-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Kretowicz

The Influence of Socio-Economic Factors upon Public Health on the Example of Podkarpackie VoivodshipThis study concentrates on intraregional disparities in health and spatial distribution of socio-economic factors that may affect health outcomes. The example of Podkarpackie voivodship rural and urban areas provides viable evidence for at least the partial importance of socio-economic variables in explaining intraregional health disparities. A total of eight factors that influence hospitalization rate were distinguished for urban and rural areas. Global regression models were created using the socioeconomic factors, which succeeded in explaining a considerable amount of variation in hospitalization rates both in urban and rural areas. Unfortunately, these models failed to explain local health determinants and so more sophisticated statistical models are necessary in order to fully understand intraregional health disparities.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Mark Tomita

The Global Health Disparities CD-ROM Project reaffirmed the value of professional associations partnering with academic institutions to build capacity of the USA public health education workforce to meet the challenges of primary prevention services. The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) partnered with the California State University, Chico to produce a CD-ROM that would advocate for global populations that are affected by health disparities while providing primary resources for public health educators to use in programming and professional development. The CD-ROM development process is discussed


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Mark Tomita

The Global Health Disparities CD-ROM Project reaffirmed the value of professional associations partnering with academic institutions to build capacity of the USA public health education workforce to meet the challenges of primary prevention services. The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) partnered with the California State University, Chico to produce a CD-ROM that would advocate for global populations that are affected by health disparities while providing primary resources for public health educators to use in programming and professional development. The CD-ROM development process is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hunold

City-scale urban greening is expanding wildlife habitat in previously less hospitable urban areas. Does this transformation also prompt a reckoning with the longstanding idea that cities are places intended to satisfy primarily human needs? I pose this question in the context of one of North America's most ambitious green infrastructure programmes to manage urban runoff: Philadelphia's Green City, Clean Waters. Given that the city's green infrastructure plans have little to say about wildlife, I investigate how wild animals fit into urban greening professionals' conceptions of the urban. I argue that practitioners relate to urban wildlife via three distinctive frames: 1) animal control, 2) public health and 3) biodiversity, and explore the implications of each for peaceful human-wildlife coexistence in 'greened' cities.


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