Utilizing Implementation Science Framework for Innovative Interprofessional Pedagogy

Today’s work environments require employees to function on interdisciplinary teams. Using the implementation science framework, the presenters will describe the planning and implementation of an undergraduate curriculum model that prepares students with interprofessional competencies. They will also describe the lessons learned and potential for scaling the model with other disciplines

Self-Regulatory Skills for Controlled Eating Emanating from Newly Initiated Physical Activity

The relationship of physical activity with weight loss may largely be due to its association with psychosocial factors. The goal of this research was to clarify such relationships using a field design lasting 24 weeks. In Study 1, change in self-regulation for controlled eating, but not energy expenditure, mediated the relationship between changes in physical activity and weight in formerly sedentary, severely obese adults (n = 174). In Study 2 (n = 148), the addition of a cognitive-behavioral nutrition treatment was associated with significantly greater improvement in self-regulation for eating. Physical activity-related self-regulation changes were related to those improvements. Changes in self-efficacy for controlled eating and mood mediated the prediction of changes in eating-related self-regulation from changes on physical activity-related self-regulation. Change in body satisfaction was not a significant mediator. Based on the findings, practical uses of physical activity to enhance self-regulatory skills for controlled eating were suggested

A Study of School Lunch Food Choice and Consumption among Elementary School Students

Background: School lunches that are part of the National School Lunch Program must meet specific nutrition requirements. It is unknown whether students eat school lunches in a balanced manner. This study examined which lunch food items children eat/toss, and consumption differences between sexes, and between students at a Non-Title 1 school where most students purchase school lunches and a Title 1 school where most students receive free or reduced-priced lunches. Methods: Students in both schools were observed unobtrusively for five consecutive days. Trained observers recorded the discarded food items on a checklist listing the menu items for the day. The final analyses (t- tests, z tests) included data from 2,826 student-meals. Results: Entrees similar to those offered in fast food restaurants (i.e., chicken nuggets, pizza, nachos, corndogs) were favored by most students. Fresh fruits and vegetables were not selected or consumed frequently. Boys consumed more food in the fast food, starches, and dessert categories, while girls consumed more soup, salads, and vegetables. Title 1 school students consumed more food in all categories except bread, pasta, and sandwiches than Non-Title 1 school students. Conclusions: Students’ preference of unhealthy lunch items may decrease the health benefits that school lunches attempt to provide

Designing an Innovative Ecosystem for Student Success: Kennesaw State University Wellstar College of Health and Human Services’ Conceptual Model

The Wellstar College of Health and Human Services (WCHSS) at Kennesaw State University developed a new theoretical model to understand and impact student success by combining two existing frameworks: Whole School, Whole Community, and Whole Child (WSCC) (Willgerodt and Maloy, 2021) and the Student Success Ecosystem (Millet et al, 2020). The WCHSS Student Success Model also appends novel constructs to produce an innovative holistic student success model with four key domains and two strategic initiatives. This model provides academics and practitioners with a framework to conceptualize student success, develop actionable interventions to drive improvement, and evaluate outcomes that continue the call to define student success more holistically

A Learning Community for New Chairs

Key elements of an effective professional learning community will be discussed, including readings, peer mentoring, meeting structure, composition, and timing of topics. Presenters will discuss the challenges of their first years as chairs, particularly finding their individual leadership styles and a balance between professional and personal lives

Priority Health Behaviors among South African Undergraduate Students

This study examined the priority health behaviors of South African youth by administering a questionnaire to 635 undergraduate students enrolled in a large metropolitan university in South Africa. Results indicate that 65.5% of the participants tried cigarettes at least once during their lifetime, over 15.2% had their first cigarette and 31.2% had their first alcoholic drink before age 15, and over 95.4% consumed their first alcoholic drink by age 18. During the month preceding the survey, 37.0% consumed five or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion and 10.3% carried a weapon at least once. Over 83.3% percent had at least three servings of fruits and vegetables the day before the survey, 44.3% engaged in vigorous physical activity on three or more of the seven days preceding the survey, 10% rarely or never wore a seatbelt when driving, 10% seriously considered attempting suicide, and 46.7% had sexual intercourse in their lifetime. Results were analyzed by demographic variables including sex, race and age. Recommendations for campus wellness programs addressing these issues are included. (Contains 12 tables.

Autism Knowledge Among Pre-Service Teachers Specialized in Children Birth Through Age Five: Implication for Health Education

The article discusses a study to examine autism knowledge among pre-service teachers specialized in children birth through age five (B-5). The study concluded that many participants lacked autism knowledge, which is infiuenced by age, perceived autism knowledge, past experience in working with autistic children and the number of sources where participants received autism information. Health educators should plan, implement, administer and manage health education, especially autism education

Effect of experiential competency-based interprofessional education on pre-professional undergraduate students: A pilot study

© 2020 Assoc. of Schools Advancing Health Professions. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary faculty team-led competency- based interprofessional undergraduate course for health and human services pre-professional students. Today\u27s complex health and social problems require interprofessional knowledge and skills. Most interprofessional education occurs in graduate-level healthcare programs. Students graduating from health and allied health professions at the undergraduate level are ill prepared to work on interprofessional teams. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examined the impact of an innovative experiential course on interprofessional competencies. Eleven undergraduate students in human services, public health, and nursing participated in the course. Students and faculty completed a modified Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Survey after each simulation and results were compared. At the end of the semester, each student also responded to open-ended prompts describing their reflections pertaining to team experiences. The results of this study indicate that an undergraduate course can increase students\u27 interprofessional competencies, and that group dynamics influence how students view their skill levels. Consistent with other studies on this topic, students\u27 self-ratings on the survey were mostly higher than those completed by faculty members. Educators need to process group dynamics (e.g., storming, norming) and individual styles of work regularly throughout the semester in order to maximize students\u27 development of interprofessional competencies. Pre-professional students should be provided interprofessional learning opportunities to improve their competencies for addressing complex health and social challenges

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Attitudes and Use among Health Educators in the United States

Background: Interest in and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is increasing. However, CAM remains an area of nascency for researchers and western practitioners. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. health educators\u27 attitudes toward CAM and their use of common CAM therapies. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among members of a professional health educator listserv. Results: Health educators generally have positive attitudes toward CAM and about 90% have used at least one CAM therapy in the last 12 months. Differences in CAM attitudes and use were significant, with females reporting more positive attitudes toward and use of CAM. Discussion: Health educators\u27 overall positive attitudes toward CAM are consistent with the limited extant literature. However, important differences were found by various demographic characteristics, not previously identified. Translation to Health Education Practice: The results of this study support the small, but growing, body of literature regarding the need for CAM education for future health education professionals. A discussion of various approaches to the integration of CAM education into professional preparation programs is included. (Contains 6 tables.