Considerations for increasing the competences and capacities of the public health workforce: assessing the training needs of public health workers in Texas

BACKGROUND: Over the last two decades, concern has been expressed about the readiness of the public health workforce to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing the field. A 1988 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) served as a catalyst for the re-examination of the public health workforce. The IOM's call to increase the relevance of public health education and training prompted a renewed effort to identify competences needed by public health personnel and the organizations that employ them. METHODS: A recent evaluation sought to address the role of the 10 essential public health services in job services among the Texas public health workforce. Additionally, the evaluation examined the Texas public health workforce's need for training in the 10 essential public health services. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Overall, the level of perceived training needs varied dramatically by job category and health department type. When comparing aggregate training needs, public health workers with greater day-to-day contact (nurses, health educators) indicated a greater need for training than their peers who did not, such as those working in administrative positions. When prioritizing and designing future training modules regarding the 10 essential public health services, trainers should consider the effects of job function, location and contact with the public

Use of the Servqual scale to measure expectations and perceptions of service quality in an ambulatory health care setting

Vita.The objective of this research was to determine the appropriateness of the original SERVQU AL scale as a tool for measuring patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality in an ambulatory health care setting. The research examined three additional areas: 1. the correlation between patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality in the setting, 2. the correlation between staff perceptions of patients expectations of service quality and the actual patients' expectations, and 3. the relationship of distance traveled for health care service and expectations of service quality. The results conclude that the original SERVQU AL scale is a reliable and valid instrument and appropriate for use in a health clinic setting. SERVQU AL used as a self administered questionnaire in the setting produced an excellent response rate. The statistical analysis supports conclusions which indicate a direct correlation between patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality, no correlation between staff perceptions of patients' service quality expectations and actual patient expectations, and no direct correlation between distance traveled and patients' expectations of service quality. Four areas are identified for future research. First, use of the SERVQU AL scale on an annual basis in several clinics of a multi-site system to develop a data base, second, determining the effect of specific characteristic variables on patient expectations using the SERVQU AL scale, third, a prospective study examining the relationship between patient expectations and treatment outcome, and fourth, examining the relationship between patient shopping behavior and expectations of service quality

Use of the Servqual scale to measure expectations and perceptions of service quality in an ambulatory health care setting

Vita.The objective of this research was to determine the appropriateness of the original SERVQU AL scale as a tool for measuring patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality in an ambulatory health care setting. The research examined three additional areas: 1. the correlation between patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality in the setting, 2. the correlation between staff perceptions of patients expectations of service quality and the actual patients' expectations, and 3. the relationship of distance traveled for health care service and expectations of service quality. The results conclude that the original SERVQU AL scale is a reliable and valid instrument and appropriate for use in a health clinic setting. SERVQU AL used as a self administered questionnaire in the setting produced an excellent response rate. The statistical analysis supports conclusions which indicate a direct correlation between patients' expectations and perceptions of service quality, no correlation between staff perceptions of patients' service quality expectations and actual patient expectations, and no direct correlation between distance traveled and patients' expectations of service quality. Four areas are identified for future research. First, use of the SERVQU AL scale on an annual basis in several clinics of a multi-site system to develop a data base, second, determining the effect of specific characteristic variables on patient expectations using the SERVQU AL scale, third, a prospective study examining the relationship between patient expectations and treatment outcome, and fourth, examining the relationship between patient shopping behavior and expectations of service quality

Considerations for Increasing the Competences and Capacities of the Public Health Workforce: Assessing the Training Needs of Public Health Workers in Texas

Over the last two decades, concern has been expressed about the readiness of the public health workforce to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing the field. A 1988 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) served as a catalyst for the re-examination of the public health workforce. The IOM's call to increase the relevance of public health education and training prompted a renewed effort to identify competences needed by public health personnel and the organizations that employ them. A recent evaluation sought to address the role of the 10 essential public health services in job services among the Texas public health workforce. Additionally, the evaluation examined the Texas public health workforce's need for training in the 10 essential public health services.public health, public health education, public health workers, Texas, public health training, public health challenges, Health Studies, Sociology

Tools to investigate how interprofessional education activities link to competencies

Integrating interprofessional education (IPE) activities and curricular components in health professions education has been emphasized recently by the inclusion of accreditation standards across disciplines. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) established IPE competencies in 2009, but evaluating how activities link to competencies has not been investigated in depth. The purpose of this project is to investigate how well two IPE activities align with IPEC competencies. To evaluate how our IPE activities met IPEC competencies, we developed a checklist and an observation instrument. A brief description of each is included as well as the outcomes. We analyzed Disaster Day, a simulation exercise that includes participants from Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy, and Interprofessional Healthcare Ethics (IPHCE), a course that introduced medical, nursing, and pharmacy students to ethical issues using didactic sessions and case discussions. While both activities appeared to facilitate the development of IPE competencies, Disaster Day aligned more with IPEC competencies than the IPHCE course and appears to be a more comprehensive way of addressing IPEC competencies. However, offering one IPE activity or curricular element is not sufficient. Having several IPE options available, utilizing the tools we developed to map the IPE curriculum and evaluating competency coverage is recommended