Building Cultural Competency among Emerging Public Health Professionals: Student Experiences in Panama

One of the prerequisite skills of effective public health and health practitioners is cultural competency. Cultural competency, however, requires a deep and profound understanding of individuals who are shaped by different life experiences than one’s own. Previous authors have described study abroad and service-learning as established strategies for enhancing cultural competency among emerging health professionals. This article describes how students made meaning of an international study abroad experience in Panama through analysis of student-produced work including reflective journal entries, blog posts, and photo journaling. In summer 2019, 13 undergraduate and graduate students participated in a four-week travel course to explore the complex and interrelated concepts of population health, health equity, and social determinants of health. Through visits to clinics and health facilities as well as service-learning activities, students identified strengths and challenges to health and health care in Panama. Furthermore, interactions with health officials and community members encouraged students to challenge their own biases and assumptions, which is a first step towards developing cultural competency. Despite the short duration of this travel course, instructors used intentional pre-departure activities and readings as well as daily reflective essays to scaffold student learning. Moreover, reflective writing assignments provided students an outlet to record their observations of external expressions of culture (i.e., customs, rituals, styles) and internal expressions of culture (i.e., attitudes, habits, norms) and discuss their relevance in terms of health behaviors. This level of deep reflection compelled students to engage more fully in their own learning experience

Advancing Public Health Education Through Place-Based Learning: “On the Road in the Deep South”

Documented health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities exist in the United States, and health injustices frequently have deep historical ties, especially in the South. Therefore, it is critically important for students to understand root causes of both historical and contemporary public health issues and their effects on population health. In spring 2018, 15 undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham participated in a six-credit-hour travel course by touring throughout the Deep South to learn more about the ways in which history and place interact with programs, policies, and practices to influence population health. Students saw firsthand how the social determinants of health frequently affected access to health care and discovered the value of a multidisciplinary approach to public health and health programs in addressing health equity. The purpose of this article is to describe student experiences with the travel course through an exploration of students’ reflective journal entries, blog posts, and student presentations. Additionally, the authors report results of a self-assessment designed to measure student interest and level of comfort in working with, or on behalf of, medically underserved populations. The article concludes with implications for public health and best practices for offering place-based courses across academic majors.https://doi.org/10.1177/237337991983907

(office). [email protected]. Gary Peters, PhD, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Department of Human Studies

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Candidate Support Providers (CSPs) and candidates regarding the ways in which CSPs fostered reflective practices among candidates pursing National Board Certification. Investigators used a multiple case study methodology for this qualitative research. Five CSPs and five candidates from an urban school district in Alabama participated in this study. Consistent with qualitative research, this study utilized multiple data source including: (a) semi-structured interviews, (b) direct observations, (c) journal entries, (d) participant artifacts, and (e) an online questionnaire. The findings of this research revealed that CSPs utilized strategies that enhanced NBC candidates' use of reflective Williams et al. Volume 4, Issue 1, Spring 2014 9

Creating a Virtual Meeting Platform Via Online Survey Tool: Leveraging Community Engagement Technology in the Early Days of COVID-19

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama’s Title V Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) team was forced to innovate in order to gather community input and to prioritize the findings of the 2020 Title V Maternal and Child Health Five-Year Comprehensive Needs Assessment. On a shortened timeline, the team pivoted from a full-day, in-person meeting of professionals and family representatives to an asynchronous, online “meeting” that included all planned and necessary content, allowed for comment by community members, and resulted in a prioritized list of needs. This needs assessment process showed that by using a platform like the online survey tool, Qualtrics, in an innovative way, programs can capture broader, more diverse perspectives without sacrificing quality of communication, content, or feedback. It shows the possibility for strengthening maternal and child health (MCH) systems and other systems of care though rich engagement. This model can be easily replicated in other survey tools, benefiting other states that are faced with difficulties convening geographically dispersed professionals and communities

Bringing Community and Academic Scholars Together to Facilitate and Conduct Authentic Community Based Participatory Research: Project UNITED

Cultural competency, trust, and research literacy can affect the planning and implementation of sustainable community-based participatory research (CBPR). The purpose of this manuscript is to highlight: (1) the development of a CBPR pilot grant request for application; and (2) a comprehensive program supporting CBPR obesity-related grant proposals facilitated by activities designed to promote scholarly collaborations between academic researchers and the community. After a competitive application process, academic researchers and non-academic community leaders were selected to participate in activities where the final culminating project was the submission of a collaborative obesity-related CBPR grant application. Teams were comprised of a mix of academic researchers and non-academic community leaders, and each team submitted an application addressing obesity-disparities among rural predominantly African American communities in the US Deep South. Among four collaborative teams, three (75%) successfully submitted a grant application to fund an intervention addressing rural and minority obesity disparities. Among the three submitted grant applications, one was successfully funded by an internal CBPR grant, and another was funded by an institutional seed funding grant. Preliminary findings suggest that the collaborative activities were successful in developing productive scholarly relationships between researchers and community leaders. Future research will seek to understand the full-context of our findings