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PubMed2024

Evaluation of the Master's in Genomic Medicine framework: A national, multiprofessional program to educate health care professionals in NHS England.

PURPOSE: Genomic medicine is revolutionizing health care but requires health care professionals to update their understanding of genomics and its application to clinical practice for successful implementation. To meet this need, Health Education England developed the Master's in Genomic Medicine, a national multiprofessional program to increase genomic literacy in the National Health Service workforce. This study summarizes an evaluation of the program, which will inform its future development. METHODS: Underpinned by Moore's evaluation framework, a mixed methods approach was used to characterize (1) learner demographics, (2) perceptions of the program, (3) knowledge and/or qualifications achieved, and (4) the outcome(s) for practice in the workplace. RESULTS: Learners were a diverse cohort of health care professionals, including doctors, health care scientists, nurses and midwives. Participant satisfaction was high for all elements of the program, including the curriculum, learning environment(s), and multiprofessional cohort(s), despite the challenges of engaging working professionals in part-time learning. Both learners and their managers reported enhanced genomic practice after completion of their studies. CONCLUSION: The Master's in Genomic Medicine program is an effective approach to professional education in genomic medicine. This broad multiprofessional learning complements training aimed at specific groups of health care professionals.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Fostering literacy learning in supportive contexts.

Young children with learning disabilities typically encounter difficulty with academic tasks requiring intentional effort and effective use of metacognitive skills--qualities that competent readers and writers possess. In response to these difficulties, special educators often modify literacy instruction, isolating the "basic skills" of literacy (such as decoding and penmanship) from meaningful reading and writing activities. Such instruction contributes to impoverished notions of literacy and exacerbates problems of metacognition. The two research programs reported here challenge the conventional literacy instruction provided to many young students with LD. The programs are rooted in developmental and cognitive theory and research, as well as emergent literacy theory. The social nature of learning is emphasized, with a focus on the role of the teacher, the form of discourse, and the role of text in literacy instruction. Results show that children with learning disabilities benefit from strategy instruction occurring within classroom cultures that support collaborative discourse, the flexible application of comprehension strategies, and appropriate, meaningful opportunities for reading and writing.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Computer speech-based training of literacy skills in neurologically impaired children: a controlled evaluation.

Twenty-two reading-disabled children were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of a computer speech-based system for training literacy skills. The sample included 17 children with significant neurological impairment of various etiologies (including spina bifida and hydrocephalus, seizure disorder, brain tumors, cerebral palsy, and head injury) and five developmental dyslexics. The training employed a "talking" computer system that provides synthesized speech feedback during the course of learning. The training conditions included three word recognition and spelling-training programs and a math-training control program. Three different literacy-training procedures were compared, with the size of the trained print-to-sound unit varying as letter-sound (LSD: train-->t/r/ai/n); onset-rhyme (OR: train-->tr/ain) and whole word units (WW: train-->train). All literacy-training groups made significant gains in word recognition and spelling, with the LSD- and OR-trained subjects making the greatest word recognition gains on the words that could be trained with segmented speech feedback (i.e., words with regular spelling-to-sound patterns). All literacy-training groups demonstrated significant transfer on uninstructed rhymes of instructed regular words, with the greatest degree of transfer achieved by the LSD-trained subjects. These findings suggest that the neurologically impaired children were able to profit from instructional procedures that segment the printed word into units corresponding to onsets, rhymes, and phonemes and that this segmentation training may facilitate transfer-of-training for them.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1978

Literacy skills of long-term hospitalized mental patients.

The authors tested 48 patients who had lived in a state psychiatric hospital for extended periods to determine their literacy levels. Measures used were the reading test portion of the Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE) and selected questions from the Adult Performance Level (APL) test, which attempts to assess competencies necessary to function effectively in society. Nearly half of the patients scored at the fourth-grade level or below on the ABLE, and their scores on the APL were well below norms for other groups. No correlation was found between number of years of hospitalization and test performance. From the findings the authors conclude that both in-hospital and aftercare programs must recognize that literacy level is an important factor in the the rehabilitation or recidivism of patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology of chronic suppurative otitis media and deafness in a rural area and developing an intervention strategy.

Of 613 children evaluated in a village in Haryana 94 (15.3%) were observed to have chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). Fifty eight (61.7%) children had hearing impairment. CSOM contributed to 71.6% of the hearing impaired (58/81). On analysis of association of CSOM with literacy and socio-economic status of mothers, and age, sex, and upper respiratory tract infections (URI) in children positive correlation was observed only with URIs (P < 0.001). Literacy and socio-economic status of the mothers did not correlate significantly with knowledge about treatment seeking, and ear cleaning practices, probably due to the narrow range of incomes and literacy levels. An intervention program consisting of play, demonstrations, health charts and slogans, and aural cleaning and antibiotic drops was introduced.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The TwoDay Algorithm: a new algorithm to identify the fertile time of the menstrual cycle.

Women who monitor their fertility signs and recognize when they are fertile can use this knowledge to conceive or to avoid pregnancy. Studies have shown that there is a rather small fertile window of several days during each menstrual cycle. Established methods of identifying the fertile window, such as the Ovulation and the Symptothermal methods of Natural Family Planning, can be very effective in helping couples avoid pregnancy. A new algorithm for identifying the fertile window has been developed, based on monitoring and recording of cervical secretions. The TwoDay Algorithm appears to be simpler to teach, learn, and use than current natural methods. A large existing data set from a World Health Organization study of the Ovulation Method, along with Natural Family Planning charts from women using the Ovulation Method and the Symptothermal Method, were used to determine the potential effectiveness of the TwoDay Algorithm in identifying the fertile window. Results suggest that the algorithm can be an effective alternative for low literacy populations or for programs that find current Natural Family Planning methods too time consuming or otherwise not feasible to incorporate into their services. Further studies are needed to determine the efficacy of the TwoDay Algorithm in avoiding pregnancy and to assess its acceptability to users and providers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nurse educators' acceptance of the computer in baccalaureate nursing programs.

Although several studies have investigated nurse educators' perceived knowledge of and acceptance of computer technology, none have incorporated objective indicators of knowledge or acceptance. This descriptive research study used standardized and investigator-developed tests to examine acceptance of the computer by randomly selected administrators and faculty in private baccalaureate nursing programs. Levels of computer literacy and attitudes were sufficiently positive to promote the awareness, interest, and evaluation stages of Roger's diffusion and adoption model. Responses were not sufficiently positive to promote the trial and adoption of computer technology for instructional and administrative activities. Recommended approaches to meeting this challenge included instruction related to computer software and educational applications and the use of consortial arrangements to share knowledge, computer hardware and software, and application experiences.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1999

Cancer control research and literacy.

Low literacy may be an important predictor of increased cancer risk and poor participation in cancer control programs. Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey indicate that about 90 million individuals, slightly less than half of the U.S. adult population, demonstrate low or limited literacy skills. In contrast, the average health education brochure, pamphlet, or instruction sheet requires a 10th-grade or higher level of reading ability to be understood. Guidelines exist for the development of more readable printed materials; studies have also found that nonprint approaches such as video education are viable alternatives to printed materials. Research on patient populations indicates that educational approaches targeted to low-literacy groups can be effective in reaching individuals with cancer control information. This review identifies the most important areas of needed research and makes recommendations for the development of a research agenda on cancer control and literacy.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Education for health promotion and disease prevention: convince them, don't confuse them.

Promotion of health and prevention of disease have become some of the most emphasized issues of the 1990s. The government, health professionals, and private organizations have made the primary prevention of disease a priority. Quality education is a major intervention by which prevention is realized. However, superior quality educational offerings entail significant pre-preparation via the development of clear and realistic teaching/learning plans, faculty knowledge of educational psychology, metacognition and cognitive processing, understanding of cultural diversity, incorporation of adult learning principles, the use of varied teaching/learning strategies, and astute application of program evaluation skills. Educators, like nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals, must work with people to mutually decipher their healthcare needs and plan educational experiences that learners can merge with their own life experiences and ethnocultural perspectives. In addition, educators should use health education materials that match learners' literacy levels. Most importantly, such programs must be thoughtfully evaluated in light of the achievable goals that were outlined during preplanning stages. Without outcomes assessment as part of health promotion/disease prevention education programs, health educators are less likely to produce interventions that learners value and from which they truly benefit. Optimally, education programs about health promotion/disease prevention should generate long-term critical thinking processes that produce positive health choices, behavioral change, and healthy life styles.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Preschool teachers' theoretical and pedagogical stances on the language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Implications for teacher preparation and in-service programs.

This study was an investigation into three preschool teachers' theoretical and pedagogical stances on the language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Transcripts from formal, audiotaped interviews provided the primary data source for the investigation of the teachers' theoretical orientations toward language and literacy learning. The primary data sources used in examining the teachers' instructional practices were videotape recordings, handwritten field notes, and photographs of the teachers and their students participating in classroom language and literacy events over a six-month period. Data were analyzed inductively using the procedures and techniques related to grounded theory analysis. Results of the study indicated that the teachers held differing theories and that these theories influenced the teachers' instruction in significant ways. The study highlights the growth in one teacher's perspectives and the resulting changes in her classroom practice.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Health and safety education for workers with low-literacy or limited-English skills.

Low literacy and limited English proficiency have become a growing concern for health and safety educators. With one-fifth of the workforce reading below an eighth-grade level and possibly another tenth having limited English skills, health and safety educators and unions have increasingly become aware that current training programs often surpass the language and literacy abilities of workers being trained. This article describes the dilemmas facing health and safety professionals in incorporating knowledge about language and literacy skill levels. It documents creative strategies and new programs, largely based on participatory and popular education approaches, to provide training that simultaneously matches worker needs and leads to worker empowerment.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1996

Perceptions of computer literacy among occupational therapy students.

OBJECTIVE: Educational programs for the occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant are mandated to include content on technologies in their curricula. Given the increasing use of technology skills among occupational therapists, especially computer technology skills, it seemed judicious to ascertain the current and desired levels of skill of occupational therapy students as well as their opinions about computer technology. METHOD: Program directors from five baccalaureate-level curricula distributed the Computer Opinion Survey and the Computer Knowledge Survey to 109 junior and senior occupational therapy students. The students were instructed to complete and return questionnaires to their program directors who, in turn, forwarded the questionnaires to the principal investigators. RESULTS: Respondents were generally positive about computer technology, and the level of knowledge they desired about computer technology applications in occupational therapy was much greater than their current level of knowledge. Although respondents' positive attitudes were significantly correlated with their current levels of computer knowledge, no significant relationship was established among positive attitudes, current levels of computer knowledge, and number of computer courses completed before entering an occupational therapy curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the respondents were computer literate (i.e., they had a general working knowledge of the uses, limitations, and impact of computers), no relationship was established between their previous computer course work and their current knowledge of the use of computer technology in occupational therapy. The linkage between generic computer literacy and knowledge of its relationship to the use of computer technology in occupational therapy was not evident to this sample of junior and senior students.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Transforming schools into communities of thinking and learning about serious matters.

In this article, a program of research known as Fostering Communities of Learners is described. This program is in place in several schools and classrooms serving inner-city students from 6 to 12 years of age. Based on theoretical advances in cognitive and developmental psychology, the program is successful at improving both literacy skills and domain-area subject matter knowledge (e.g., environmental science and biology). Building on young children's emergent strategic and metacognitive knowledge, together with their skeletal biological theories, the program leads children to discover the deep principles of the domain and to develop flexible learning and inquiry strategies of wide applicability.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Materials and strategies that work in low literacy health communication.

In a Maine Area Health Education Center program some solutions were developed to the well-documented problem of health information material that cannot be read or comprehended by low literacy adults. Professionals in health education and adult education were trained to produce easy-to-read health materials and created dozens of low-cost pamphlets on the nation's year 2000 health objectives. The pamphlets are easily reproducible on a copy machine. Concurrently, a model for teaching oral communication skills to health care providers who deal with low-literacy adults was developed in partnership with Maine's largest rural health center delivery system. The train-the-trainers model reached more than 500 direct health care service providers. Participants in the two programs gained skills useful in all aspects of public communication that are replicable in other cities, States, and regions.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed1995

Evaluating graduate and undergraduate nursing students' computer skills to determine the need to continue teaching computer literacy.

1. INTRODUCTION. This descriptive study examined undergraduate and graduate nursing students' perceptions of their computer literacy skills to determine whether faculty should continue teaching basic computing skills in nursing programs. As in Bryson's study [1] the computer literate nurse is one who understands the concepts of hardware, software, and operating systems; who is able ot use the computer to learn; and who is able ot use such applications as word-processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Zeimer [2] predicted that by 1994 students entering nursing schools would be prepared to use computers and that further teaching of computer skills would not be needed. Some faculty, however, have felt that students are not entering nursing programs prepared to use computers. 2. TOOLS. A Level of Computer Experience (LCE) tool was developed to measure the computer literacy skills of students entering the first of three Masters' level nursing informatics courses over a six-year period. The instrument's 25 items determined experience with: operating systems, hardware, learning tools, applications, and information systems (IS) life cycle (design, selection, implementation, evaluation and project management). The instrument was modified for undergraduate students; this eliminated the items relating to the IS life cycle since these items reflect advanced skills. The resulting instrument was composed of the first 16 items of the original Level of Computer Experience tool. For each item, a four pint Likert scale allowed respondents to choose from the words "none," "some," "moderate," and "extensive" to describe their level of experience. For scoring purposes each word was assigned a numerical value as follows: none = 1, some = 2, moderate = 3, and extensive =4. 3. DATA. The LCE was administered to 65 sophomore nursing students and 74 graduate nursing informatics students. Undergraduate scored 4 items (use of microcomputer, use of IBM type computer, keyboard skills and use of WordPerfect). This score was above the 2 or 'some' experience level. Mean scores for all other items ranged between 1 and 2. Graduate informatics students also had higher mean scores for the 4 items. No mean scores reached the 'moderate' level for either group. One-way analysis of variances showed significant differences between the undergraduate and graduate students on the item concerning use of statistical packages. 4. CONCLUSIONS. In this population, both graduate and undergraduate nursing students continue to possess low levels of computer literacy skills. Since many students come into nursing programs without the capability of using information technology in practice, schools need to continue providing a way for students to obtain computer literacy skills.

Baltimore↗
PubMed1991

Note on adolescents' time-use and scientific literacy.

This study investigated the relative influence of self-reported, out-of-school experiences on 13-yr.-olds' scientific literacy, including the often studied variables of homework time and television time. Results, based on a national probability sample of 3,116 students, indicated that time spent doing homework, reading, and viewing television programs with an educational focus had significant and positive independent influences on scientific literacy net of home environment and students' background factors. Viewing television programs that emphasized entertainment negatively contributed to scientific literacy. The number of hours of television viewed was unrelated to literacy. Factors associated with the transition to adolescence, dating, and peer relations, were negatively related to scientific literacy. Findings were discussed in regard to improving students' performances in science.

Achievement↗
PubMed1988

Interactive video in health care: blending patient care, computer technology, and research results.

This article illustrates one method of combining research results and computer technology to produce a "high-tech" patient-education program that has demonstrated its applicability in clinical practice. A videodisc entitled The Story of Maria was produced as part of a large primary care research project along the southwestern U.S.-Mexico border. A needs assessment of approximately 200 Hispanic mothers preceded the scripting of the videodisc. The paper presents an overview of the production process, as well as a description of some special technological features, including the bilingual soundtrack, touchscreen control, and careful design of instructions to eliminate the need for literacy. Pilot testing of the interactive video program in two community health centers in the U.S.-Mexico border area indicates that the program is not only fulfilling its purpose, but also being enthusiastically received by the patients.

Adult↗