The Impact of a Brief Intervention on Medical Students' Readiness to Screen for DV - Changes in Decisional Balance and Self-Efficacy

Introduction: Domestic violence (DV) affects millions of Americans each year. Yet, there is a dearth of theory-based DV curricula, resulting in physicians unprepared to screen for DV. This study utilized a survey based on constructs from the Transtheoretical Model to assess the readiness of first- and second-year medical students to screen for DV. Information from this survey will be used to help institutionalize DV education into the medical curriculum. [See PDF for complete abstract]

Self-Assessment in a Competency-Based Curriculum: Preliminary Findings

Introduction: The introduction of the ACGME core competency framework brought challenges of developing appropriate evaluation tools (i.e. self assessment) to provide evidence of competency. Baylor College of Medicine has 43 competency goals organized within the 6 ACGME domains, each domain having 4-10 goals. [See PDF for complete abstract]

Using service-learning to encourage community health advocacy among high school students

The project outlined throughout this program management plan aims to develop a health-focused student advocacy group in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). At its core, this project will be an opportunity for SAISD students to engage in service-learning, through which they will learn and develop by designing, organizing and participating in meaningful public health service experiences. ^ This program management plan addresses the genuine need for public health community education by using the service-learning model as a framework to engage students to effect change. The plan delineates the process by which the student advocacy group is to be assembled, selection of service-learning project, project objectives, technical objectives, and communication requirements. Ideally, the plan should help to facilitate project coordination, communication, and planning, and to support the direction of resources. The appendices that follow also provide useful tools with which to follow through with project implementation. ^ The plan is about more than providing a tool to educate students about the health issues in their community. It is about providing a way to teach health advocacy and self-interest and encourage civic engagement via public health. Students have the potential to positively effect lasting change among their peers, in their schools and in the community.^

Perceived risk and outcome expectancy on the practice of home infusion technique in a hemophilia population

This study described home infusion techniques and practices, measured the perceived risk of HIV and hepatitis transmission to self and others, and measured the outcome expectancy of following risk reduction guidelines for 90 hemophilia patients and/or their infusion assistants. It also assessed general knowledge of HIV and hepatitis information for the same population.^ The study subjects were hemophilia patients or their infusion assistants from the Gulf States Hemophilia Center in Houston, the El Paso Satellite Hemophilia Clinic in El Paso, or Texas members of the Women Outreach Network of the National Hemophilia Foundation (WONN) group. Each subject was interviewed either by telephone or in person. The questionnaire used was developed for the study and consisted of 60 items. These items assessed general demographics for the patients and assistants, including questions about their training to do infusions as well as the actual practices, measured perceived personal risk for the transmission of HIV or hepatitis to the assistants, perceived risk of transmission of HIV or hepatitis to others for assistants and self-infusers, and the outcome expectancy for following recommended risk reduction guidelines also for both groups.^ The theoretical framework used assumed that perceived risk and outcome expectancy would be predictive of behavior. The findings did not support this theory. Instead, the findings suggest that infusion behavior is habitual in nature; most respondents perform exactly the same behavior for every infusion. Since none of the variables selected were predictive of the compliance behavior for home infusion the teaching method should be directed towards mastery learning, or learning that will incorporate the correct behavior into a habitual pattern of home infusion. ^