Improving the use of e-learning in health care curricula

E-learning is nowadays included in different health care curricula. However, this learning and teaching approach is still relatively underused in the health care study programmes. Hence, the goal of this article is to present three e-learning best practices in health care, which were validated in our previous projects/studies.First best practice, e-learning practice contents for the development of critical thinking, presents the approach which resulted in significant (p<0.001) raise in the number of discussion posts (+12.2%) for which the opinions and conclusions of the participants were justified with valid arguments. Furthermore, also the survey results showed that students achieve critical thinking skills with these contents. Second best practice, inclusion of the health care students in the development of e-contents, also resulted as a valid approach for improving the use of e-learning in health care curricula, which was confirmed by the expert opinion and e-contents final users. Finally, third best practice, our approach for evaluation and comparison of e-learning and traditional pedagogical elements value by health care students and teachers, was confirmed in the interview with the management as a valid approach that helps the management to identify whether previous elearning initiatives and activities were successful. Best practices, presented in this paper, represent the evidence that the use of modern information and communication technologies should be considered in the future as a serious requisite in health care study programmes. The broader community interested in the e-learning initiative should prepare a list of similar best practices, validate its effectiveness and prepare guidelines for their optimal implementation.

Preconception health in current society

Statistics from different countries show a growing number of couples are postponing their decision to have children for several reasons. These may lie in career development or other life goals that influence their family planning. In Slovenia, every sixth couple is having difficulties conceiving, while on an international level it is estimated that every seventh couple is experiencing difficulties conceiving. Apart from age, there are several other factors causing a decline in fertility rate among men and women. These include environmental factors such as endocrine disruptors, and lifestyle factors such as eating habits, sleep habits and physical activity. According to data from the World Health Organization, the criteria for the normative quality of semen are getting lower with every year, which implies the reproductive ability of the human race is declining

Prehranjevalne navade in telesna aktivnost dijakov primorsko-notranjske regije

Uvod: Zdrava prehrana in telesna aktivnost sta neločljivo povezani določilnici zdravja mladostnikov. Namen raziskave je bil (1) ovrednotiti prehranski status ter prehranjevalne navade dijakov 3. letnikov srednješolskega izobraževanja v primorsko-notranjski regiji in (2) preučiti navade njihove telesne aktivnosti ter (3) raziskati povezavo med njihovimi indeksi telesne mase (kg/m2) in prehranskimi navadami. Metode: Raziskava je bila opravljena spomladi 2015 na vzorcu dijakov 3. letnikov (n = 166) v primorskonotranjski regiji. Njihova povprečna starost je bila 18,2 let. Uporabljen je bil anonimni spletni vprašalnik 1KA s 44 vprašanji. S programom SPSS verzija 22 je bila izvedena opisna in inferenčna statistika. Rezultati: Dijaki ne uživajo sadja in zelenjave vsak dan (74 % fantov in 63 % deklet), pri čemer je primanjkljaj skupnega vnosa zelenjave (fantje: 151,3 g, dekleta: 166,7 g) in stročnic (fantje: 138,2 g, dekleta: 141,8 g) večji, kot je pri vnosu sadja (fantje: 172,4 g, dekleta: 170,9 g). Tudi uživanje rib je glede na priporočila premajhno, priporočene količine dosega le 5,4 % deklet in 4,5 %. Dijaki tudi niso dovolj telesno aktivni. Diskusija in zaključek: Kljub številnim ukrepom prehranske politike je med dijaki še vedno premajhen vnos sadja in zelenjave. Šolski obroki bi morali pogosteje vsebovati zelenjavo, stročnice in ribe. Za spodbujanje telesne aktivnosti bi morali mladim šport približati kot vrednoto, dostopno vsem mladostnikom

The importance of physical activity in improving preconception health

Introduction: Preconception care practices include physical activity, which is identified as an important indicator of behavioural preconception health. A scoping review was conducted to examine the association between physical activity in preconception health and its long-term effects on the later life of the offspring. Methods: The literature was searched in databases CINAHL, ScienceDirect and PubMed, using keywords determined by the study objective. In total, 755 published manuscripts were identified. Two additional manuscripts were identified through manual searching. A total of 17 manuscripts was selected for the final analysis. The data were extracted and summarized using thematic analysis. Results: The selected studies were summarized in two categories: (1) studies associated with physical activity and preconception health behaviour (n = 8), and (2) studies associated with preconception physical activity, fertility, and pregnancy outcomes (n = 9). Conclusions: Despite limited evidence, other indirect scientific evidence shows that physical activity positively affects health, and is therefore strongly recommended during the preconception period. Policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals should join efforts in examining the impact of physical activity on preconception health, fertility and birth outcomes, and effectively translate the f indings into preconception health guidelines and public policies