<p> African Americans diagnosed with diabetes are less likely to self-manage diabetes-specific modifiable risk factors. As a result, utilization of healthcare services occurs at a greater rate than other racial groups, and thereby incurs higher than expected healthcare costs. This ethnographic study explored the elements of diabetes educational material African Americans in a large city in the southern part of the United States found most useful to facilitate self-management of their disease. Bandura's self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical framework. Research questions addressed the preferred educational content, layout of material, and methods for educational delivery and caregiver support. A purposive sample of 30 African Americans with diabetes who had engaged in diabetes education classes participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth personal interviews, which were inductively coded and then categorized around emergent themes. A key finding of this study is that participants preferred group learning formats, but perceived educational material to be confusing and difficult to understand. They also expressed some preferences for the use of color, pictures, and presentation of graphical information that may provide the basis for a revision of educational materials. Interestingly, participants indicated a tendency to seek out church members rather than family for support. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to healthcare professionals to adopt educational curricula that reflect cultural nuances and needs of target populations in order to support better health outcomes for at-risk populations and cost efficiency improvements.</p>

<p> Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, was firmly linked to a new subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC's) in late 2007. With growing rates of West Virginians affected by HPV-related oral cancers it becomes pertinent to verify that public healthcare professionals of all disciplines are aware of this causal relationship and educating their patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level, attitudes and behaviors of a convenience sample of West Virginia's public healthcare professionals regarding the oral implications of HPV before and after and educational presentation. A pre- and post- intervention survey methodology was utilized with an additional survey mailed to the sample population four months later. Chi-square tests for independence and binary logistic regression were utilized to determine any significant differences of answer choice on all three surveys. Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in knowledge concerning oral cancer related to HPV on two of the three survey questions (X2= 6.4, p=0.03, X2=6.3, p=0.02). After the educational lecture participants indicated they were more likely to engage and educate the public about oral cancer caused by HPV (X2= 4.2, p =0.08), encourage their at-risk patients to seek oral cancer screenings (X2=2.1, p=0.18) and claim to have taken every opportunity to speak with patients about oral cancer caused by HPV (X2=14.5, p=0.0001). Knowledge of and patient education efforts by West Virginia public healthcare providers concerning the oral implications of HPV has increased as a result of the lecture. The knowledge gain indicated knowledge deficiencies on the topic which indicates the topics' future application for interprofessional education (IPE). It is recommended that this topic be applied to IPE in other states or within other settings such as the correctional environment or Native American reservations.</p>

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1938.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1938.

Thesis--Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-179).

<p> Today&rsquo;s emerging patient centered health movement is focused not on a specific condition or demographic, but rather on shifting the balance of power and enabling access to information to drive decision-making in healthcare. This takes place through electronic health records as well as more generalized sources. The uptake of social media is contributing to an innovation in patient centered healthcare: information and support on a global scale is coming not only from the formal healthcare system, but also within online social networks. Today, through computer-mediated interactions, patients are not only seeking information, they are curating and sharing information. Subsequently, patients are also creating information, establishing a novel ecosystem of engagement that has the potential to disrupt the current healthcare system. </p><p> This dissertation explores an online health community, BCSM (which stands for &ldquo;breast cancer social media&rdquo;), established using Twitter, a largely public and searchable social media platform. Drawing primarily from social network theory, disruptive innovation, and ecological systems theory, this research identifies essential characteristics within the community that may inform future development and support for patient centered healthcare. To conduct this research, a blended approach of netnography &ndash; referring to the approach of ethnography applied to the study of online cultures and communities &ndash; and in-depth interviews with BCSM participants were employed. </p><p> Data collected via interviews and tweets using the hashtag #bcsm provide evidence of clinical support, emotional support, information sharing, and knowledge translation. Underpinning this activity is the opportunity to associate not only with peers, but also with individuals of varying roles (including patients, providers, advocates, researchers, and caregivers). As evidenced by the data collected, educational opportunities flow in both directions. </p><p> This work contributes to the larger corpus of health-related literature in the identification and naming of a significant community element that has seen little focused attention: cross-peer engagement, a term used to highlight the interaction amongst individuals of differing status, ability, or rank. This research also documents the formation of microspurs, defined as relationships that form as a result of community participation. These come in many forms and range from expanding a personal support network to participation in federal policy work. Findings suggest that the future of healthcare will not revolve around hospitals and bounded systems. Instead, patients will demand an expanded set of entry points for health information sharing, knowledge transfer, condition management, and general support.</p>

<p>In recent years, online learning has become a recognized method for delivering educational content in numerous institutions of higher education. Despite the prevalence of this new method of education and training, few studies have been performed regarding online learning in the field of dental education. This research describes and analyzes faculty perceptions in the Kuwait University-Faculty of Dentistry regarding online dental education. Out of sixty-six full-time faculty members thirty-three of them have responded to questionnaires regarding their perceptions. The data were analyzed for themes and patterns. There was a general positive perception toward online learning as a good tool to enhance dental education. When replying to questions about the challenges and obstructions of online learning, faculty members&rsquo; answers indicated that a lack of time and administrative support created barriers to teaching online learning courses. </p><p> Viewpoints of the faculty members were further analyzed by age, gender, education level, and teaching experiences. The results showed some variation in the levels of agreement toward online learning based on various components of identity. Females were slightly more positive about online teaching and learning. However, there were no noticeable differences between faculty members of different ages. The academic positions did correlate with perceptions: those who hold the highest academic position (professors) had the least favorable perceptions of online teaching. Further, participants who had 6 to 10 teaching experience years had a stronger positive attitude than those who had been teaching for fewer than 5 years or more than 16 years. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: online education, dental education, web-based learning, distance learning, e-learning, faculty perception. </p>

The Purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to test the effects of a multidisciplinary team teaching program on state anxiety, satisfaction with care, and length of hospital stay in patients (N = 38) undergoing hip and knee joint replacement. A multidisciplinary team composed of nurses, a social worker, and a physical therapist presented an one-hour structured teaching program to groups of patients and family members prior to surgery in a 350 bed teaching facility. Control subjects did not receive the structured teaching program. No significant differences in state anxiety, satisfaction with care, or length of hospital stay were found between the experimental subjects (n = 23) who received the teaching program and the control subjects (n = 15) who did not. The project did however, stimulate the development of a formal group teaching program and encouraged collaboration and communication among members of a multidisciplinary team of care providers.

A quasi-experimental design was used to examine the differences in myocardial infarction (MI) patients' self-care behaviors, satisfaction, knowledge, and feelings of security after participation in a structured cardiac teaching program presented by one designated patient educator. Thirty subjects diagnosed with first time uncomplicated MIs were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 15) which received conventional unstructured teaching. Four self-report questionnaires were developed and used. Patient satisfaction with teaching was greater for the experimental group (t = -2.65; df = 28; p ≤ 0.05). No differences were found between groups regarding information retained at time of discharge from the hospital or two weeks later, or in readiness for post-hospital self-care. Self-care behaviors were improved clinically in both groups, but somewhat more in the experimental group. The findings suggest this structured cardiac teaching program presented by one designated patient educator enhanced patient satisfaction and may have improved self-care.

<p> A goal of schools is to provide students with practical nutritional information that will foster healthy lifelong behaviors. Unfortunately, students at one school were found to have difficulty grasping basic nutritional information and practical health-related skills. There remains an important gap in current literature regarding strategies to improve students' understanding of nutrition education material. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of a 4-week nutrition intervention unit in the Foods I classes consisting of 82 male and female students in Grades 9-12. Constructivist teaching methods were implemented to provide students with both information and valuable skills, which might positively impact student health and student learning. A pre-experimental quantitative design was used for this study. The repeated-measures <i> t</i> test was used to compute differences in pre- and post-tests scores on the nutrition test, which indicated a 6.207 mean increase in student posttest scores. The 82 students also completed a Likert style survey, which indicated both a positive student result in perceiving a better understanding of nutrition knowledge, and a positive change in dietary choices due to constructivist teaching strategies used in the intervention. These results revealed the benefits of the nutrition intervention unit by the significant increase in students' nutrition knowledge and students' implementation of that knowledge in daily living. The results make an important contribution to the existing literature and can enhance social change initiatives through increasing students' knowledge of nutrition, providing them with life-based skills, and enhancing their quality of life.</p>