200213 Teaching Cultural Humility and Competence: Lessons From Developing and Teaching a Multi-disciplinary Hybrid Online Course for Public Health and Health Professions Students

Monday, November 9, 2009: 3:20 PM

Nancy L. Chernett, MPH , Jefferson School of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Phildelphia, PA
Susan Toth-Cohen, PhD, OTR/L , College of Health Professions, Department of Occupational Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University, Phildelphia, PA
Robert Simmons, DrPH, MPH, CHES , Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, Jefferson School of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Elaine J. Yuen, PhD , Jefferson School of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Health disparities are well documented as significant concerns that must be addressed as we rebuild our public health and health care systems to meet the goals of Healthy People 2020. As we tackle the disproportionate burden of chronic illness and access to quality health care of an increasingly diverse population, individuals working in the public health and health care sectors must be prepared to work effectively with individuals from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As we strive to reach the Healthy People 2020 goal of eliminating health disparities, health services education must provide students with knowledge and experience to facilitate their understanding of the root causes of health disparities and strategies to advance ongoing personal and organizational cultural competence to overcome conditions that perpetuate inequalities.

This presentation describes the development and implementation of an online hybrid course with 3 on-campus meetings that addressed cultural humility and competence for public health and health care graduate students at an urban health sciences university. The presentation will discuss development of course content and strategies to facilitate interactivity and student reflection given the complex subject matter and hybrid course format. Course assignments focused on the student's community or clinical work environment with specific readings and case studies that incorporated health literacy and communication, CLAS standards and exemplary programs. Students developed and shared individual professional and organizational improvement plans that incorporated lessons learned and opportunities for growth. Challenges and opportunities from course development and implementation for both faculty and students will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:
1.Discuss the framework, content, and process for developing an multi-disciplinary online and in-person course on cultural competency 2.Describe key student and faculty issues in course development and implementation for interdisciplinary graduate courses and training programs addressing cultural humility and competency

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Teaching

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was one of the instructors for this course which included curriculum development, online and in-class instruction, evaluating student assignments, etc. I have been a presenter at numerous professional conferences over the past eight years including APHA conference in Boston several years ago.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.