Carla Clasen

Service learning: integrating student learning and community service.

Health professions education is directly effected by changes in health care service delivery and financing systems. In the United States, as the health care industry increasingly shifts to a market economy, service delivery venues are moving away from acute care facilities and into community-based settings. Additionally, there is increased emphasis on primary prevention programs, often provided in public health settings. For health professions programs that traditionally provide clinical training in hospitals and long-term care facilities, there are unique challenges associated with identifying new venues in order to insure that students are exposed to a wide variety of patients with a range of chronic to acute disease conditions. One set of tools that has demonstrated usefulness during these kinds of transitions is service learning. This teaching methodology emphasizes increased partnership with clinical training sites, extensive orientation to patient populations and community resources, structured reflection and instilling the ethic of service in future health care providers. Although this article describes utilization of service learning in the context of current conditions in the United States, we hope that the principles presented here can be readily adapted in any setting.

Parents' Perceptions of Their Children's Weight, Eating Habits, and Physical Activities at Home and at School

INTRODUCTION Parental perceptions of their young childrens weight and habits may play an important role in determining whether children develop and maintain healthy lifestyles. This study was conducted to determine perceptions of parents of third-grade children in an urban school setting regarding their childrens weight, eating habits, and physical activities. METHODS Parents anonymously completed surveys about their childs weight, eating habits, and daily activities. The survey also asked about how schools could encourage healthy eating and increased physical activity. RESULTS Overall, 26% of the parents perceived their child to be overweight and expressed concern, but 40% of these parents believed that overweight is a condition that will be outgrown. Parents who reported eating more than eight meals per week with their child were less likely to report their child as overweight and more likely to believe that their childs physical activity level was appropriate. DISCUSSION Most parents of third-grade students demonstrated concern regarding their childs weight and perceive obesity as a problem. Parents support school interventions such as nutrition education and fitness classes.

Three Evaluation Methods of a Community Health Advocate Program

The title Community Health Advocate (CHA) is one of thirty or more titles used throughout the world for an indigenous outreach worker who is trusted and respected in his or her community and who serves as a bridge between peers and health professionals. In 1992, the Center for Healthy Communities in Dayton, Ohio developed a program to train as Advocates people indigenous to the communities in which they would be working. Since the first CHAs began work in January 1993, the effectiveness of the program has been evaluated from three perspectives: the Community Health Advocates, the managers directors of the community sites at which the CHAs work, and the clients with whom the CHAs work. Advocates indicated that the training program adequately prepared them for their roles and functions. They also identified systematic frustrations and barriers that made it more difficult for them to perform their job. Community site directors and community leaders indicated that the CHAs were considered a positive force in meeting client needs and facilitating independence, and were very effective in outreach and coordination of resources. A survey of CHA clients revealed an overwhelmingly positive response to the Advocates work, validating the belief that CHAs can fill an important niche in the health care community. The three evaluation processes described in this paper helped to document the need for and the effectiveness of this program and can serve as a model for similar programs.

Development of the Competency Assessment Tool – Mental Health, An Instrument to Assess Core Competencies for Mental Health Care Workers

As the focus on accountability in health care increases, there has been a corresponding emphasis on establishing core competencies for health care workers. This article discusses the development of an instrument to establish core competencies for workers in inpatient mental health settings. Twenty-six competencies were identified and rated by mental health care personnel on two subscales: the importance of the competency and how much behavioral health care workers could benefit from training on the competency. The reliability of the scale and its contributions to the training, retention and recruitment of direct care workers for behavioral health are discussed.

Capacity-building needs of minority health nonprofits

This article reports on the results of a statewide assessment of the capacity-building needs of organizations that provide health services to ethnic minority groups in Ohio. The research addressed gaps in knowledge about the specific needs of these organizations for improved effectiveness and long-term sustainability. A telephone survey of 659 organizations, supplemented by focus groups with 37 participants in the states largest cities, indicated substantial need and interest in capacity-building technical assistance in areas such as revenue-generating activities, marketing and public relations, information technology training, program evaluation, and board leadership development. The limited ability of these organizations to pay for the needed assistance creates challenges for planning approaches to meet these vital needs.

Evaluation of Social Marketing Efforts Designed to Increase Enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

ABSTRACT Expanded eligibility criteria for children in the federally funded Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has created unique social marketing challenges because of the need to engage families that historically have not received public support. The purpose of this article is to evaluate statewide outreach strategies to increase CHIP enrollment. Quantitative research identified the outreach strategies used by Ohio counties and determined the counties that demonstrated the greatest increases in child health insurance enrollment. Qualitative research explored consumer and outreach staff perceptions of which marketing strategies led to success. Findings, implications, and application to social marketing theory are discussed.

Community service and the pediatric exam: an introduction to clinical medicine via a partnership between first year medical students and a community elementary school.

Background: Introduction to clinical medicine courses traditionally focus on inpatient wards or ignore the well-child exam. Purpose: This program uses an elementary school setting to give 1st-year medical students experience in the well pediatric exam while emphasizing service learning. The program has both learning and service objectives. Medical students learn the art of the pediatric exam while providing a service for an underserved population. Medical students visit a community school and receive lectures about the roles of different providers and the well being of school children. Under faculty guidance they conduct physical exams on kindergartners. Methods: For 2005–2007, 301 medical students participated. Results: Medical student evaluations of the experience, measured on a 5-point Likert scale, are overwhelmingly favorable. Conclusions: The program provides a model for early clinical experience that embraces service learning. It instills an ethic of service and illustrates how the community can be a valuable teaching resource.