 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Linda A Mcullagh, MPH, RN1, Gwenyth Wallen, PhD, RN2, Jan Yates, PhD, RN2, Paul Hoernes, BA2, Donna Krasnewich, MD, PhD3, Deloris E Koziol, PhD1, Suzan Parada, BSN, RN1, and Tannia Cartledge, MSN, RNC1. (1) NIH, Clinical Center, 10 Center Drive, Bldg 10, 3C421, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301-496-5483x302, lmccullagh@dir.nidcr.nih.gov, (2) NIH, linical Center, 10 Center Drive, Bldg 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, (3) NIH, NHGRI, 10 Center Drive, Bldg 10/10C101, Bethesda, MD 20892
Significance: The explosive impact of Genomics on health care delivery is increasingly well known to health care providers and educators. The governing board of APHA has identified Genetics education as a priority for public health professionals in 2003. DHHS and NCHPEG (National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics), have also identified an urgent need to educate all health providers in basic genetics. Methods: To address this need a multidisciplinary group from the NIH created “Basic Genetics Education for Health Care Providers”. This program combines 7 web based self-education modules with monthly traditional face-to-face lectures by genetics experts. The initial course was pilot tested by 186 health care providers from various disciplines with 69% of those enrolled completing a pretest/post-test evaluation study. The WEBLEI (Web-based Learning Environment Inventory) was used to evaluate program effectiveness. A knowledge test based on critical thinking scenarios with clinical practice applications measured information gained. Results: WEBLEI scores indicated program effectiveness particularly in the area of convenience and content appropriateness. Internal consistency of the WEBLEI subscales was good with Chronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.83 to 0.94. A significant (p<0.001) change in knowledge scores was reflected in the paired t-tests results. Conclusions: Distance (web) education offers a unique opportunity to provide education to large audiences with diverse learning styles. In the public health arena, distance genetics education may help overcome barriers by providing access for health professionals with diverse schedules and in a variety of national and international settings.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Distance Education, Genetics
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.