Primary Health Care and U.S. Health Care Disparities
This course will examine the contextualfactors of primary health care and health disparities within the US. Currenttrends will be described and discussed utilizing case study methodology toexamine health indicators among the US population. Students will gain anincreased understanding of the impact of current trends such as increasednegative health outcomes among minority and underserved populations. Studentswill have an increased understanding of the complexities associated withaddressing health disparities in traditional versus community-based primaryhealth care systems in the United States.
Dr. Maria Elena Ruiz, Instructor
Wendy Gorton, Instructional Designer
Patricia Cornman, Instructional Designer
I have previously taught at the University of Southern California
(USC) (face-to face classrooms), and so being new to the online format,
I missed having the first week of classes to go over the syllabi, to
meet students, etc.
For someone that has never taught in the classroom, I think the
online format may not pose a problem or a dilemma, as they may not
realize that something is missing. However, for someone who has only
taught online, it may be disconcerting to suddenly find themselves in a
classroom, to suddenly experience the “atlas complex” where faculty are
traditionally out in front of the class and all faces are waiting for
faculty to “perform.”
At USC, we routinely required group projects, and so the chat rooms
and CPH class formats allows me to continue what I had previously been
doing at USC. At OHSU for the last couple of years, I have incorporated
faculty—student chat rooms in each of my courses. I start the 1st week of classes, schedule chat times during the 1st and 2nd
week of classes, for approximately 1 hr/per week. In the syllabus, I
let students know that their participation is required, as this is the
time to review the syllabus, to answer any questions they may have,
plus it’s the time to get to meet them—and they get to meet all others
in the course.
Students are encouraged to
be active participants in their own learning. On-line forum discussions and
interactive learning activities are used to guide students through the
knowledge and skill-building process. Students will retrieve and evaluate
research literature and other resources that can be used to guide planning
community-based approaches to health disparities problems.
My goal is to motivate students to expand horizons and to create an
exciting, tolerant and safe environment—especially as we deal with
diverse ideas/values and beliefs—with primary care and health
disparities at the center. We encourage students to be accountable and
active learners; and that’s why I probably log on too often and read
their postings (since I periodically respond or clarify points, they’re
aware that I’m reading postings regularly).
Online advantages are that students may say/post comments that they
may have found too difficult to say face-to-face. Online, students have
been very kind and respectful of diverse viewpoints; they’ve offered
many references to back up their ideas; and they’ve shared many
resources with their classmates. Since my background is medical sociology and nursing/primary care, this is an ideal MPH program for me.
Course surveys have shown that students appreciate the brand of design given to this course, and learning material is organized, succinct, and clear in its expectation and sequencing. Various student learning styles are addressed, including visual through streaming video and interpersonal and linguistic learners via Chat and Forums.
Course Learning Outcomes are clearly
laid out in the Syllabus and all activities are clearly attached to each:
- Utilize available data to document and describe
disparities in health; - Search web and literature databases for relevant data
including, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, social class or
socioeconomic status, rural/urban residence, gender, and disability; - Search web and literature databases for relevant
research - identify relevant factors that affect health
disparities issues - Critically analyze cultural factors that may
contribute to US health disparities; - identify/describe relevant cultural factors that
affect perception of health, healing, and wellness belief systems - interpret the behaviors of patients/consumers who are
seeking health care and their attitudes toward health care providers - understand own behaviors that can compromise service
delivery for patients from other cultures - Identify and describe strategies used to reduce
- Develop community-based, interdisciplinary primary
health care strategies to reduce health disparities. - identify the basic characteristics of community
organizing approaches to health problems; - define the concept(s) of community-based health
organizations and identify ways to improve health through community input; - compare and contrast different models of community
organizing; - analyze health education and promotion programs that
have used community organizing approaches; - discuss the role of the public health professional and
the ethical principles involved in community organizing;
The instructor provides frequent
feedback in the Forums and on Assignments and in the Chat Room, which are all
multiple forms of assessing student learning. Students become self-reflective
in their use of Forums and group Chats and are encouraged to collaborate and
critically think rather than digest information given to them. There is a wide
range of interaction, ranging from instructor-to-student to student-to-student
in a variety of Sakai tools, which results in often an even more rich
experience than if it were face-to-face.
The instructional designers and instructor have been diligent in preparing an organized course utilizing Sakai's structure. Using Course Materials, the course is laid out week-by-week and organized by types of activities--Lectures, Readings, Chats, Forums-- in a consistent aesthetic tabling system that delineates each activity with elegance. All Submittable assignments are plainly and simply available in Submissions with clear directions on how and when to submit. Students have access to a variety of Resources and the instructions for how to view the various media; i.e. streaming video lectures, online journal databases, internet pages, and collaboration tools.
The Syllabus contains faculty contact information and hours, required prerequisites and materials, and also who to contact for technical information is all readily available.
"Just in time" learning opportunities and supportabound; for instance, the students communicated that an extra caht session would be helpful for their project, and an impromptu session was scheduled, communicated, and executed-- with great attendance--and student ambiguities were attended to.
The course has been by innovating the use of collaboration tools in Sakai to encourage students to interact and create their own knowledge. Scheduling chat times with students takes a bit more time—as faculty
have to make sure they are available to log on during the specified
times. Also, some students may not be available during the scheduled
times, but students are encouraged to view the chat logs on their time,
plus they are encouraged to contact a class member who did participate
during the live chat—thus they connect with other students immediately
the 1st week of classes (may thus cut down on asking faculty questions that were already answered).
Some good examples are from the CPH 532 forums and student-led discussions. I usually set up the 1st
week’s questions (serves as an example for the following student-led
discussions); then students sign up to lead the following week’s
discussions. In the syllabus, there is also a statement
that students are encouraged to be “creative” and to offer their own
suggested readings, web sites, etc.
Since I log on very frequently, and offer some bits, I sense
that this entices students to log on more frequently (for example, I
may state that those are great points thus far, but I’m eager to see
what others post). Also, the syllabus states that as discussion leaders, students serve as facilitators, guiding and keeping the discussion going. Some other points noted in the syllabus:
- The on-line week may run from Tuesdays through the following Monday
- Students are asked to post their first response by Thursday
- Students are required to post a minimum
of 3 different times, on 3 different dates (these are just suggested
guidelines—faculty may require different things)
I may also send an email to a student that is leading the
discussion, motivating/encouraging them to log on, as someone may have
posed a question that requires a response from the discussion
facilitator.
Advantages/advice for others who may not be familiar with chat rooms:
- faculty will need to
guide the discussions/ have an agenda ready, and keep it to the 1 hr
format (as students may start to have their own personal discussions
that could cut into the faculty-student time schedule) - encourage students to stay on past the 1 hr (faculty may log off)
- students can submit questions to faculty ahead of time
- chat logs are a good way to remind
students that requirements were reviewed (as a student may later state
“they didn’t know that”)
| Attachment | Size |
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| cph534ARuiFinalDescripThreadedDiscuss_ParticipationW09%2012_31.pdf | 79.5 KB |
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