Translating Research into Practice: HEADS UP and K-12 Science Inspiring Health and Careers in Youth

Introduction: HEADS UP {Health Education And Discovering Science while Unlocking Potential} aims to improve health literacy and increase student interest in health science careers by providing cutting-edge content from world-renowned researchers in the Texas Medical Center and beyond to the K-12 school community. [See PDF for complete abstract]

A process evaluation of a health literacy intervention targeting pediatric providers' communication skills at the Texas Children's Health Plan

Background. Health literacy is an important determinant for quality health care, and affects communication between patients and physicians. Poor communication may result in negative effects in health. Improved communication between patients and physicians could positively affect health outcomes. Communication skills are teachable.^ Objectives. (1) to evaluate the process involved in the design and implementation of a health literacy intervention targeting pediatric providers’ communication skills at the Texas Children’s Health Plan in Houston, Texas; and (2) to describe lessons learned from this process that may be used in future attempts to address the issue of health literacy and health communication. ^ Design/methods. The process evaluation of the implementation of a health literacy strategy at the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) consisted of a critical analysis of all documents and minutes from meetings of the team of investigators. It also involved a secondary analysis of data collected between December 2006 and June 2007. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test and Wilcoxon-signed-rank test were employed in analyzing the data. This information was complemented with a limited review of existing literature on communication skills training programs. ^ Results. The design of the educational intervention followed recommendations from experts in the field of health literacy. The delivery of the intervention was possible and benefited from existing resources and logistics within the TCHP. Very few targeted providers participated in two offerings of the workshop (6.6% and 1.7% respectively). After the educational intervention, providers showed increased knowledge of health literacy facts and its effects in health (p=0.001); increased awareness of the low health literacy problem (p=0.003); increased expectations for change in practice (p=0.002), and intent to use health literacy strategies for communication immediately following the intervention (p=0.001). Low participation indicated the need for further investigation of barriers to, and means for successful implementation of programs aimed to improving health communication. ^ Conclusions. A short, focused intervention utilizing health literacy strategies for communication appeared effective in increasing knowledge and intentions for change in a small group of pediatric providers. ^

Report on the practice based culminating experience as teaching assistant for "Pathology and Public Health" class taught at University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston

Objectives. The objectives of this report were to describe current best standards in online education, class competencies, class objectives, class activities and to compare the class competencies, objectives and activities undertaken with the current best practices in online teaching and to provide a list of recommendations based on the most efficacious practices. ^ Methods. Utilizing the key words- online teaching, national standards, quality, online courses, I: (1) conducted a search on Google to find the best standard for quality online courses; the search yielded National Standards for Quality Online Teaching as the gold standard in online course quality; (2) specified class objectives and competencies as well as major activities undertaken as a part of the class. Utilizing the Southern Regional Education Board evaluation checklist for online courses, I: (1) performed an analysis comparing the class activities, objectives, and competencies with the current best standards; (2) utilized the information obtained from the analysis and class experiences to develop recommendations for the most efficacious online teaching practices. ^ Results. The class met the criteria set by the Southern Regional Education Board for evaluating online classes completely in 75%, partially in 16% and did not meet the criteria in 9% cases. The majority of the parameters in which the class did not meet the standards (4 of 5) were due to technological reasons beyond the scope of the class instructor, teaching assistant and instructional design. ^ Discussion. Successful online teaching requires awareness of technology, good communication, methods, collaboration, reflection and flexibility. Creation of an online community, engaging online learners and utilizing different learning styles and assessment methods promote learning. My report proposes that online teaching should actively engage the students and teachers with multiple interactive strategies as evidenced from current best standards of online education and my “hands-on” work experience. ^ Conclusion. The report and the ideas presented are intended to create a foundation for efficacious practice on the online teaching platform. By following many of the efficacious online practices described in the report and adding from their own experiences, online instructors and teaching assistants can contribute to effective online learning. ^