Pedagogy in Health Promotion

Individuals in the health and social service arena are often required to obtain programmatic funds through grant and proposal writing; however, in this highly competitive era, these funding avenues have become more difficult to obtain. The literature is limited and mainly related to curriculum practices used to prepare students to work in the field of community health. A Resource Management and Grant Writing course taught in an undergraduate program that prepares students for Community Health Education Specialist certification uses a service-learning approach to teach specific National Commission for Health Education Credentialing knowledge and skills, including components of a grant. This article describes a successful service-learning process employed with these students.

For over 20 years the current model of Public Health Leadership Institutes (PHLIs) has been the primary model for “leadership” development. Past studies have shown that the model is successful in increasing participants’ knowledge and developing individual skills. However, limited evidence suggests that the model leads to outcome-based results. This review compares the current PHLI model with traditional corporate leadership development models and determines that the PHLI model is in fact related more closely with a “leader” development model. Additionally, it is suggested that it is not possible to measure outcome-based results because of the limitations of the current model. Finally, recommendations are made to refine the model to make it more closely aligned with a true “leadership” development model, thus making it more effective at educating and training the current public health workforce.

Community partnerships provide an invaluable and practical teaching opportunity for undergraduate public health education programs. This is especially true when working with Generation Z students who desire meaningful, effective learning experiences. The continued strong interest of Generation Z undergraduates in public health and health promotion, combined with their skills and learning preferences, provides a strong rationale for utilization of community-based learning strategies. It could be argued, however, that programs must go beyond providing service learning and reflection opportunities. Indeed, experiential learning has come under criticism for lack of engagement with community-based organizations served by students and a lack of evidence on the quality or utility of the “services” provided. In this light, we constructed a transformational model of learning, where students complete tangible, timely projects with community partner organizations. In this model, all parties benefit: The students experience an often-profound learning opportunity through project execution; the community partners benefit from the skills, insight, time, and talents of the students; and the undergraduate program is able to assess a novel marker of student achievement—evaluation of a real-world application of public health skills and knowledge.

Mind mapping is a brainstorming technique that allows users to deconstruct complex topics by creating a graphical representation of constituent subtopics and related themes. The aim of this article is to illustrate how the mind mapping technique was used to assist undergraduate health education students in developing topic ideas for a descriptive research study. Each fall semester since 2008, a mind mapping activity was used in an introductory undergraduate health research methods course to provide health education students with a structured activity aimed at the identification of a researchable health topic and the selection of a specific aspect of that topic that warrants further study. After the construction of the mind map, students developed structured research questions and a list of key search terms that served as the foundation for a review of the literature and the development of a questionnaire for a descriptive research study. To illustrate this instructional strategy, three example mind maps are provided with detailed commentary. Discussion includes suggestions on how instructors could scaffold the mind mapping activity with individual feedback and collaborative learning to enhance critical thinking.

Photovoice is a community-based participatory research method that engages individuals to use photographs to reflect on the strengths and issues affecting their community as well as advocate for positive change. This article presents using photovoice as a pedagogical tool to introduce qualitative research methods to community members enrolled in the 15-week Community Research Fellows Training Program in Saint Louis, Missouri. Seventy-eight community members across two cohorts completed individual homework assignments examining social capital and health. Completed assignments were categorized into six general themes and participants took part in facilitated small group discussions by theme. Pre- and posttest surveys were completed; statistically significant improvements were seen in participants’ knowledge of qualitative methods. On a scale of 1 to 5, participants rated the qualitative methods session positively with an overall score of 4.48 (Cohort I) and 4.80 (Cohort II). Qualitative data from session evaluations and exit interviews illustrate completing a photovoice project served as a “powerful” and “insightful” experience that enhanced experiential learning and engaged participants in health-related research in their communities. Participants’ positive session evaluations and increased knowledge of qualitative methods suggest that photovoice is an effective pedagogical tool to increase research literacy among community members. Opportunities to broadly train community members, especially those that are not part of a single community-based organization, may help build broader community capacity and as such strengthen community–academic partnerships.

Background. Sexual health education plays a vital role in preventing adverse consequences of sexual behavior. Data are limited on how professional development (PD) for teachers is associated with teaching sexual health content. Method. We used data from the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study, a cross-sectional survey that included a nationally representative sample of middle and high school health education courses (n = 328; 96.2% of those sampled). We examined whether teacher characteristics and receipt of PD on four sexual health domains (human sexuality and the prevention of pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted diseases) were associated with teaching those four domains and whether PD was associated with teaching specific topics within each domain. In a second set of analyses, we compared the difference in coverage of specific topics by receipt of PD among only the teachers who reported teaching the domain. Results. The prevalence of teaching sexual health content was higher among courses in which teachers had a degree in health education or were certified to teach health education. A robust relationship between teachers’ receipt of PD and the teaching of nearly all sexual health topics as well as an increase in the mean number of topics taught and the time devoted to the domain was demonstrated. Conclusions. PD has a positive impact on the coverage of sexual health topics among middle and high school courses. These data suggest a need for more PD on sexual health education content to ensure that sexual health topics are taught in the classroom.

There are underrepresented fields in both undergraduate-level (UG) and graduate-level public health (PH) professional preparation in the United States. Demand for employment and a diversified work force in PH is growing. To understand how well UG students are aware of and knowledgeable about PH, a survey was conducted at a large urban statewide public university in the Northeastern United States. Students solicited to participate in the anonymous online survey conducted in PsychData were first- and second-year undeclared major UG students during March to April 2015 (spring semester). Of 138 consenting respondents, there were 101 validated, complete sets of responses. Variables included student course enrollment, whether parental occupation influences student choice of majors, and perceived quality of available curricula. More UG students were enrolled in introductory statistics among the PH-related courses asked about; those courses fulfilled multiple UG major requirements and could play greater roles in student awareness of PH, that is, opportunities via PH faculty/staff/guest lectures. Implications of findings include providing students hands-on experiences late in high school and early UG years, and advisors mentioning PH to students interested in basic sciences.

Introduction. Movies can be used in public health pedagogy to illustrate concepts and build students’ connection to the material. This study describes the perspectives of undergraduates and faculty on effective strategies for using movies to achieve key public health learning outcomes. Method. In this cross-sectional study, a survey was administered to undergraduate majors in health studies (n = 109) and faculty who teach health-related courses (n = 27). The survey included measures of usage and attitudes toward pedagogical applications of movies, which were informed by Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals. Results. Students and faculty expressed favorable attitudes toward the use of movies in undergraduate public health education. Additionally, both groups endorsed the usefulness of movies for affective and cognitive learning outcomes, with appraisals of affective learning being significantly higher. Movies were most frequently applied to building the core public health competencies of analyzing public health issues, communicating effectively, relationship building, and cultural competency. Among students, 74% stated that watching health-related movies reinforced their current career trajectory, encouraged them to consider other careers, or changed their choice of career. Discussion. Preparation of the future public health workforce requires students to develop both cognitive skills and an emotional connection to efforts that address health-related challenges. The findings of this study indicate that movies support both types of learning outcomes and therefore deserve further investigation as pedagogical tool in population health instruction.

Master of Public Health (MPH) students must develop skills to work in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional teams upon graduation. Teaching pedagogies that involve active learning and collaboration between students, such as team-based learning (TBL), may be helpful in preparing students to work in teams. To our knowledge, there is no literature examining TBL specifically in the context of graduate public health education to date. This study evaluated the implementation of TBL in a Behavioral Science Research Methods course on the following outcomes: (a) engagement with the course material, (b) perceived effectiveness of TBL components, (c) experience working in teams, and (d) perceived mastery of learning outcomes. We conducted a survey of first-year MPH students enrolled in the TBL research methods course (n = 45 respondents) and three focus groups (n = 17 total). Two focus groups were conducted with second-year MPH students who previously took a lecture-based version of the course (n = 10 total). Overall, students in the TBL research methods course felt confident in their mastery of learning outcomes. Students appeared more engaged with the TBL course material than with material from lecture-based courses. They also perceived this instructional method to be effective in facilitating learning. Main themes that emerged around working in teams included the central role of teammates in students’ learning, the logistic and procedural roles students took on within their teams, and team dynamics. The TBL format engages MPH students in course content and has strong potential for preparing students for collaborative work in diverse teams.

In Quebec (Canada), the 2004 health system reform brought new challenges for organizations and professionals. To support the reform, the Regional Public Health Directorate of Montreal designed a professional development pilot program, the Health Promotion Laboratory, a strategy to develop and improve health promotion practices and competencies in local health and social services centers. This article reports the results of an analysis of two laboratory sites using a mixed-methods approach and a multiple case study design; the aim was to describe the creation of knowledge through the laboratory and its dissemination in the organization, as well as to identify influencing factors. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data on the knowledge creation process and organizational context. Self-administered questionnaires were used four times over the course of each laboratory to measure active participation, commitment, psychological safety, innovation, and satisfaction. Our findings showed that knowledge acquired through participation in the laboratory was disseminated in the host organizations, both through externalization, combination, and, to a lesser extent, internalization. It is highly plausible that team processes and outcomes such as commitment, satisfaction, and innovation influenced this process, as well as contextual factors such as participant turnover, university affiliation, and internal team dynamics. These results show the potential of the laboratory for improving professional practices. They also suggest useful avenues for managers and decision makers interested in implementing such an initiative. Future work should consider the inclusion of other constructs derived from the literature on team effectiveness such as group learning, communication, and skill development.