A Coordinated and Systematic Model for Adopting, Implementing and Maintaining Effective Sexual Health Education Programs in Schools

Getting evidence-based sexual health education activities into schools can be a complicated process. Working models that assist our educational system in the selection, implementation, and maintenance of effective school-based adolescent health programs are needed. Replicating sexual health programs in school-based settings: A model for schools provides a comprehensive and applied approach that engages all of the important stakeholders within a school district. The results from this study hold much potential to inform Texas and the nation about how a coordinated and practical model can assist school districts to increase the use of evidence-based programs addressing teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health issues.

Implications for Adoption and Implementation of Effective Sexual Health Education Programs

Research on school-based sexual health education programs is at a critical juncture. With the growing number of evidenced-based programs, more focus is needed on how to help schools adopt and implement these programs. The article in this issue titled “Sexual Health Education from the Perspectives of School Staff: Implications for Adoption and Implementation of Effective Programs in Middle School” provides data on individual cognitive factors that may influence adoption and implementation. This commentary explores another framework, Concerns Based Adoption Model, as a tool for examining and supporting change associated with adoption and implementation of sexual health education programs.

Symposium for dental treatment of medically complex children: Practice based culminating experience a continuing education course

The purpose of this Continuing Education Course is to provide oral health professionals with information to address the unique dental needs of medically complex children. The objective is to train dentists to treat special needs patients so these children have more access to oral healthcare. ^ Under the auspice of Dell Children Hospital of Austin, Lisa Jacob DDS MS is administering this Continuing Education Course for dentists and dental staff from the 46 counties of central Texas served by the hospital.^ Needs assessment was determined through a survey questionnaire to collect data about the number of special needs patients seen by general dentists in Central Texas.^ In recent years, an increasing number of continuing education courses have been developed to help dentists learn techniques for providing dentistry in more understanding ways to patients with special needs. Dentists and dental staff are trained to provide care specifically in dentistry, regardless of who the patient is. This means dentists can perform a clinical examination, carry out procedures to diagnose and treat oral diseases, and provide restorations such as fillings and crowns. ^ Four prominent speakers will provide an instructional tool to address the need for dentists to increase their competence and comfort level in caring for individuals with developmental disabilities. Each speaker will address one of the most frequently encountered cases of medically complex children. The four topics selected by Dr. Lisa Jacob are Cancer, Mental Disability, Downs Syndrome, and Craniofacial Syndromes.^ The public health implications of this continuing education course are presented in providing dental service to this underserved population. When general dentist turn away patients with special needs because of lack of knowledge to treat them, these patients will, more than likely, postpone or abandon needed dental visits because of difficulties reaching pediatric dentists who may not be available in certain areas.^

Better together: Addressing maternal and child health outcomes through community health worker continuing education curricula

Background. The incidence of birth defects is a significant public health issue in the United States, adversely affecting the quality of life for parents as well as children born with these defects. Minority populations face a greater burden of birth defects and associated health problems. Prenatal practices can have a large impact on infant health outcomes. Several behaviors during pregnancy, including the intake of folic acid, can greatly influence the likelihood of a child being born with a birth defect. Community Health Workers have been shown to be effective agents at improving prenatal practices, especially when they facilitate support groups that feature pregnant women. ^ Methods. A continuing education curriculum has been created for Community Health Workers that provides content in the area of Maternal and Child Health. Content was selected after conducting a review of relevant literature and theory. Materials for conducting a training for Community Health Workers have been created in addition to materials that were designed for the population with whom the CHWs work. ^ Results. A description of each "key point" of the curriculum and a justification how it relates to the literature of the prevention of birth defects is given here. Additionally, the process of creating the curriculum using the platform delineated in the methods is described. ^ Discussion. Insights for future curriculum development are discussed along with next steps in the process of certifying the curriculum at the state level. A framework for future evaluation of the curriculum is given.^

Fostering English-taught higher education programs in a Spanish university: the "TechEnglish" innovative project

In recent years, coinciding with adjustments to the Bologna process, many European universities have attempted to improve their international profile by increasing course offerings in English. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), Spain has notably increased its English-taught higher education programs, ranking fifth in the list of European countries by number of English-taught Master's programs in 2013. This article presents the goals and preliminary results of an on-going innovative education project (TechEnglish) that aims to promote course offerings in English at the Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM). The UPM is the oldest and largest of all Technical Universities in Spain. It offers graduate and postgraduate programs that cover all the engineering disciplines as well as architecture. Currently, the UPM has no specific bilingual/multilingual program to promote teaching in English, although there is an Educational Model Whitepaper (with a focus on undergraduate degrees) that promotes the development of activities like an International Semester or a unique shared curriculum. The TechEnglish project is an attempt to foster courses taught in English at 7 UPM Technical Schools, including students and 80 faculty members. Four tasks were identified: (1) to design a university wide framework to increase course offerings, (2) to identify administrative difficulties, (3) to increase visibility of courses offered, and (4) to disseminate the results of the project. First, to design a program we analyzed existing programs at other Spanish universities, and other projects and efforts already under way at the UPM. A total of 13 plans were analyzed and classified according to their relation with students (learning), professors (teaching), administration, course offerings, other actors/institutions within the university (e.g., language departments), funds and projects, dissemination activities, mobility plans and quality control. Second, to begin to identify administrative and organizational difficulties in the implementation of teaching in English, we first estimated the current and potential course offerings at the undergraduate level at the UPM using a survey (student, teacher and administrative demand, level of English and willingness to work in English). Third, to make the course offerings more attractive for both Spanish and international students we examined the way the most prestigious universities in Spain and in Europe try to improve the visibility of their academic offerings in English. Finally, to disseminate the results of the project we created a web page and a workspace on the Moodle education platform and prepared conferences and workshops within the UPM. Preliminary results show that increasing course offerings in English is an important step to promote the internationalization of the University. The main difficulties identified at the UPM were related to how to acknowledge/certify the departments, teachers or students involved in English courses, how students should register for the courses, how departments should split and schedule the courses (Spanish and English), and the lack of qualified personnel. A concerted effort could be made to increase the visibility of English-taught programs offered on-line.

Web-based distance continuing education: a new way of thinking for students and instructors

As people have more difficulty taking time away from work to attend conferences and workshops, the idea of offering courses via the Web has become more desirable. Addressing a need voiced by Medical Library Association membership, the authors developed a Web-based continuing-education course on the subject of the librarian's role in evidence-based medicine. The aim of the course was to provide medical librarians with a well-constructed, content-rich learning experience available to them at their convenience via the Web. This paper includes a discussion of the considerations that need to be taken into account when developing Web-based courses, the issues that arise when the information delivery changes from face-to-face to online, the changing role of the instructor, and the pros and cons of offering Web-based versus traditional courses. The results of the beta test and future plans for the course are also discussed.

Teaching guides for diabetes education programs : selected annotations /

Mode of access: Internet.

An Evaluation handbook for health education programs in alcohol and substance abuse /

Mode of access: Internet.

A supplement to area health education centers : a directory of Federal, State, local and private decentralized health professional education programs /

Mode of access: Internet.