Pedagogy in Health Promotion

Postsecondary students’ ability to learn is affected by their mental health and wellbeing. Research in the teaching and learning context, however, has predominantly focused on teaching practices that facilitate motivation, learning, and academic success while overlooking the importance of student mental health and wellbeing. The current study aimed to fill this gap by using qualitative interviews to explore student perspectives on current and possible future supports that can cultivate student mental health and wellbeing in the teaching and learning context. Through 14 one-on-one interviews with students, five major themes were developed: (1) prioritize mental health, (2) provide and guide to accessible supports, (3) increase mental health literacy, (4) foster connections and social support, and (5) strengthen best practices in teaching and learning. Students emphasized that the institution has a role to play in several of these areas and elaborated on what practices and policies were least and most supportive of student mental health and wellbeing in teaching and learning. This study has implications for higher education institutions, and how they promote mental health and wellbeing, disseminate information and resources, and how faculty and staff can support students through their policies (e.g., flexibility in deadlines), course materials (e.g., assessments), course delivery (e.g., equity, diversity, and inclusion [EDI] considerations), and interactions (e.g., normalizing mental health conversations).

The COVID-19 pandemic is evidenced as a traumatic event, impacting college students preparing for healthcare careers. Trauma-informed pedagogical evidence-based recommendations include clear instruction, faculty availability, and open acknowledgment of challenges . This study explored trauma-informed mechanisms embedded in a fully online health sciences course at a public New Jersey university, given during COVID-19 pandemic in spring, 2021, to ascertain student perceptions of mechanisms and sense of belonging within the online classroom environment. Thirty-four (n = 34) Master’s and Doctoral graduate students were enrolled in this course, which met for 3 hours weekly, for a 15 week semester. Qualitative data were collected from students, including 42 reflective posts per student (for a total of 1,428 reflections) and anecdotal observations at semester’s end. Via qualitative reflexive thematic analysis, the following four themes emerged: (1) Recognizing the Moment, (2) Creating Empathic Connections, (3) Appreciating Availability/Flexibility, and (4) Clarity of Instruction. These themes are discussed, and implications for an actionable model for signature pedagogies embedded in trauma-informed care in graduate health science education are reviewed.

Introduction. The concern that talking about suicide may intensify suicidal ideation is a common fear that has been dispelled by research, yet still lingers in popular consciousness. The aim of the current initiative was to develop a brief suicide prevention training for volunteers in a peer support program for veterans, given that layperson-facing approaches are critical to the U.S. national strategy for suicide prevention. Method. The study team adapted existing pedagogical approaches for use in a brief training and for a veteran population, and implemented the training with five new volunteer groups over 5 months (N = 45). Results. Anonymous pre- and posttraining questionnaires indicated immediate statistically significant improvements in self-reported preparation to talk openly about suicide, likelihood of asking about suicide, confidence in recognizing warning signs of suicide, and confidence in intervening and involving the National Suicide Hotline. Discussion. The project begins to demonstrate that self-reported suicide prevention knowledge and skills show immediate improvements after a brief training module nested within a broader new volunteer training. This work should support efforts to develop and implement research studies on brief suicide prevention training approaches in order to determine the extent to which they change behavior longitudinally and, ultimately, reduce rates of suicide.

Addressing Latino childhood obesity requires effective health promotion programs and culturally resonant health professionals. The current profiles of public health professionals and registered dietitians point to the need to increase the number of Latino students trained in community-based participatory research and engagement of underserved populations. To address this workforce gap, the Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training developed the Sanos y Fuertes: Healthy & Strong Graduate Research Fellowship to provide Latino graduate students with research training, professional development, and mentorship. Five cohorts of seven graduate students participated in a yearlong experiential learning program. Graduate research fellows received monthly research and professional development training from faculty, staff, and community health workers. Furthermore, fellows engaged in mentored research through the development and implementation of a Latino childhood obesity prevention curriculum and intervention. A mixed-method evaluation approach was used to assess the effectiveness of the program. Fellows completed baseline, posttraining, and follow-up assessments. Assessment surveys measured training experiences (e.g., research methods, community engagement), confidence (e.g., research methods, health education), and knowledge and skills (e.g., community health program skills). The training resulted in significant increases in skills and confidence between pre- and postassessments that were sustained at follow-up. Based on these findings, we recommend that student training programs include research as experiential learning with multidisciplinary, interprofessional teams and that community-based, community-engaged, or translational research teams include community health workers as integral members for research with marginalized, underserved populations.

The Longitudinal Interprofessional Family-Based Experience (LIFE) was developed to address the need for longitudinal, experiential IPE opportunities that bring students together with real patient-family units with an intentional plan for multiple qualitative and quantitative evaluation measures. LIFE engaged 48 early learners from eight health science schools at a large midwestern university in ongoing team skill-based interactions coupled with real patient experiential learning over 11 weeks. Student teams were introduced and encouraged to apply the socio-ecological model (SEM) and social determinants of health (SDH) while collaboratively exploring the impact of the patient-family’s interface with the healthcare system and community during two consecutive patient-family interviews. A creative collaboration with the health system’s Office of Patient Experience, provided eight patients who had experienced chronic illness and treatment in the healthcare system, who engaged with the learners as both teachers as well as evaluators in this experience. LIFE is a framework model that has applicability and adaptability for designing, implementing, and sustaining experiential IPE. Initial summary data regarding outcomes for students are presented as well as considerations to increase accessible and sustainable authentic IPE experiences through untapped patient and community collaborations.

The Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) is an interprofessional team-based experiential learning opportunity for health professional students. University faculty members in the fields of nursing, public health, social work, and library science collaborated with four suburban public library directors to design, implement, and evaluate a team-based interprofessional service-learning experience, in which supervised students engaged in health monitoring and promotion in the library setting. Participating students were enrolled in either a semester-long population health course (n = 16), a Master of Social Work fieldwork internship (n = 2), a Master of Library Science internship (n = 1), or a Master of Public Health practicum (n = 2). HeLP faculty educated students on content, library culture, communication, professional roles/responsibilities, and documentation using standardized data collection tools. Concurrently, the interprofessional student teams delivered resources to patrons 1 day a week, with alternating locations, for a minimum of 2 hours per visit over the course of 6 weeks. HeLP provided students with an opportunity to apply core competencies based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative. The team-based approach fostered interprofessional learning, as students worked together to assist library patrons on health and social needs. Throughout the program’s duration, students documented the type of resources provided, the types of encounters between team members, and the number of referrals. Student learning was assessed after program completion using three open-ended reflection questions.

Introduction. Experiential learning activities, such as simulations, strengthen student learning by allowing students to apply didactic knowledge to real-world settings. Moreover, simulation-based interprofessional education supports teamwork and skill development as outlined in accreditation standards for many health and health-related academic programs. The purpose of this article is to describe the role of interprofessional simulation in enhancing student knowledge and promoting collaborative practice for disaster management. Method. Multiple data sources were used to assess a simulated EF-5 tornado disaster event including an observational protocol, a disaster simulation survey, and a survey from the Office of Interprofessional Simulation for Innovative Clinical Practice. Results. Students reported increased satisfaction and knowledge with applying skills associated with interprofessional practice, including communication, teamwork, and collaboration. Additionally, students identified skills that could be broadly applied to a range of work settings on graduation such as seeking role clarity, utilizing job action sheets, and responding to a complex situation. Notably, students reported increased levels of knowledge gain of the incident command structure after applying knowledge from didactic sessions to the simulation. Conclusion. Simulation is an innovative strategy for integrating theory and practice to best prepare graduates for the dynamic world in which they live and work. Experiential learning opportunities appeal to the assumptions of adult learning, promote the skills that employers value, and bridge the competencies of multiple academic disciplines that frequently operate in silos. Institutional leaders should view experiential learning as a critical component of student learning and an investment in workforce development.