Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111384

Josephine B. Porter, MPH, Amy W. Costello, MPH, and Robert J. McGrath, PhD ABD, MS, MA. New Hampshire Health Information Center, University of New Hampshire, 327 Hewitt Hall, 4 Library Way, Durham, NH 03824, 6038625047, robert.mcgrath@unh.edu

Knowing how to identify, use, and interpret complex data facilitates evidence-based decision-making in public health by helping communities translate data into usable information. “Prove It! Let the Data Tell the Story” is a health data training curriculum developed by the University of New Hampshire. It is a 12-hour, hands-on course focusing on the use of data, which provides an applied approach to the use of basic statistics commonly used in public health practice. Prove It! was developed in response to a need for technical assistance articulated by health care community leaders. The curriculum seeks to build the capacity of community agencies to use data more effectively in order to identify, support, and evaluate efforts to improve the public's health. This presentation will include a description of the Prove It! curriculum, including the design of the curriculum, the methods used for training, the topics covered, and the integration of hands-on activities. Results from the evaluations of previous offerings of Prove It! will be presented. Skills assessments conducted before and after the course will be compared in order to measure improvement in the understanding of statistical concepts. The data from these evaluations indicate that Prove It! improves participants' data skills. In addition, the participants provided positive feedback about the course content, its structure, and its delivery.

Learning Objectives:

• - Describe a curriculum designed to provide basic understanding of how to use data to make evidence-based decisions.
• - Discuss tools that can be used to educate community organizations about how to use data effectively.
• - Identify methods for evaluating a curriculum for educating community organizations about using data.

Keywords: Curricula, Health Information

Related Web page: www.nhhic.org/proveit.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation