BACKGROUND

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, schools had to switch online. The sudden transition to blended teaching and learning (BTL) poses challenges for students and teachers, especially for health science programs that require hands-on practical experience. The validity, reliability, and responsiveness of these self-report questionnaires (SRQs) should be established to ensure the accuracy of the results as intended by the SRQ.

This study critically appraised, compared, and summarized the psychometric properties of SRQ evaluating BTL among health science university students. This review determined the SRQ’s reliability, internal consistency, various forms of validity (content, criterion, construct), and responsiveness.

Following a 10-step procedure based on COSMIN guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of SRQs used by health science university students to evaluate blended teaching and learning. Studies were eligible if they reported psychometric properties of SRQs related to blended learning among university health science students; exclusions included studies focusing on perceptions, attitudes, self-efficacy, and satisfaction, as well as articles such as biographies, editorials, and conference materials. Searches covered multiple electronic databases until April 26, 2023, including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, MEDLINE (OVID), PsycInfo, CINAHL, EBSCOHOST, ERIC, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, JSTOR, Acta Medica Philippina, Philippine Journal of Health Research and Development, and HERDIN, managed through Zotero. Two independent reviewers performed database searches, title and abstract screening, and full-text evaluations, with a third reviewer resolving any disputes. The COSMIN Risk of Bias Checklist was employed to evaluate included studies on the development and various measurement properties of SRQs. The reviewers assessed SRQ standards, including validity, reliability, internal consistency, measurement error, responsiveness, interpretability, and feasibility. Data extraction and result tabulation were independently completed, with content comparison by two health education experts. This evaluation categorized the SRQs into three quality and validity levels.

The study examined five articles; four were rated as 'doubtful' and one as 'inadequate' in the overall development of SRQ. All four 'doubtful' studies demonstrated questionable content validity when university students were asked about the questionnaire's relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility. Only half of these studies achieved an 'adequate' rating for content validity based on expert opinions on relevance and comprehensiveness. All but one study scored from 'very good' to 'adequate' in structural validity. Three out of the four studies scored a very good rating for internal consistency, while one was deemed 'inadequate' in internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, and reliability. Three out of four studies scored 'very good' on construct validity, but all overlooked criterion validity and responsiveness. Conducted in various locations, including Australia, Romania, Turkey, and Taiwan, these studies highlighted both common characteristics and limitations in questionnaire development according to the COSMIN guidelines. Four studies were deemed reliable and valid for BTL constructs (Category A); Wu et al. requires further validation (Category B). Study limitations included heterogeneity in populations, settings, and questionnaire versions, potential subjective bias in SRQ content comparison, and the evolving nature of SRQs in blended learning contexts.

The systematic review reports the development and evaluation of SRQs for BTL while identifying gaps in their applicability to health science programs. The Blended Learning Scale (BLS) of Lazar et al. and the Blended Learning Questionnaire (BLQ) of Ballouk et al. showed an ‘adequate' rating for content validity. BLS revealed very good structural validity, internal consistency, and adequate content validation. Although the BLQ lacked Confirmatory Factor Analysis, it yielded valuable constructs for evaluating health sciences students' experiences in BTL. Both tools require improvements on recall period, completion time, interpretability, and feasibility. The review underscores the necessity for cont inuous assessment and enhancement of such instruments in BTL, advocating a rigorous scale development process. Furthermore, it encourages the customization of teaching and learning evaluation tools to suit specific institutional contexts while promoting further validation of these questionnaires across different populations in future research.

BACKGROUND

The clinical learning environment (CLE) significantly influenced the nursing students' learning experience. While clinical learning is the heart of nursing education, certain non-academic factors might be influenced by CLE. Consequently, CLE may be affected during a health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

To determine the relationship between nursing students’ CLE and their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors in the Central Philippines.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving 462 nursing students enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants. Four self-report questionnaires were adopted to gather the data: a 42-item Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) scale, short-form Grit (Grit-S) scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem (RSE) scale, and Caring Behavior Inventory (CBI-24) scale. Spearman rho and rank-biserial correlation tools were used to analyze the data.

The results indicated that the clinical learning environment was positively associated with academic grit, selfesteem, and caring behavior. Some profiles of the participants, such as age, sex, year level, type of school, leadership experiences, clinical setting experience, and willingness to be a nurse, were significantly associated with the clinical learning environment, academic grit, self-esteem, and/or caring behavior.

Students’ CLE influences their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behavior. That is, students who reported a more positive perception of CLE, the higher their academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors. Furthermore, some students’ profile characteristics influence CLE, academic grit, self-esteem, and caring behavior. Enhancing CLE while promoting grit, self-esteem, and caring behaviors of nursing students affiliated with hospitals or any clinical learning settings and promoting alternative means of meeting CLE competencies when face-to-face interactions are restricted during a health crisis are recommended.

Education ; Health Education ; Global Health

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional collaboration is required as a learning outcome for medical school graduates. Clinical exposure to collaborative practice is one of the recommended strategies in the implementation of interprofessional education. Professionals in mental health units customarily engage in collaborative practice and can provide learning opportunities for medical students. Local data on interprofessional collaboration among practitioners in a mental health care setting in the pandemic is limited and merits study.

The goal of this study was to determine and then describe factors that influence collaborative practice among health professionals in an inpatient mental health care unit in the pandemic. It aimed to generate recommendations from practitioners on strategies to optimize opportunities for medical students to learn interprofessional collaboration.

This is a qualitative study which made use of key informant interviews (KIIs) and focused group discussions (FGDs) with members of a multiprofessional mental health team in the mental health unit of a tertiary medical center. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had drastically disrupted health care services and opportunities for interprofessional collaboration. Participants described their roles and identified six factors essential to reenergizing collaborative practice: resources and opportunities for meaningful interaction, quality of relationship and communication among team members, management goals and strategies relevant to the mental health needs and the context of patients and their families, guidelines for collaboration, interprofessional education appropriate to participant levels, and monitoring for quality assurance and improvement. Practical guidelines for promoting the identified factors were outlined. Recommendations to optimize opportunities for interprofessional education were also given.

Six factors were identified and described in the study. These can provide practitioners and students with a frame of reference for participating in and learning from collaborative practice in a mental health care unit as they work with other professionals on a shared concern. Addressing practical issues in real life settings will enhance their capacity to meaningfully collaborate with other professionals in managing patients, institutions, projects, and similar situations.

BACKGROUND

Ahigh-quality measurement tool is essential to accurately assess the innovative teaching strategies in health professions education. The Blended Teaching Assessment Tool (BTAT) aims to evaluate quality blended teaching or instructional delivery in Philippine health science programs. However, there is a lack of studies examining students' cognitive processes to support the validity of questionnaires.

Cognitive interviewing (CI) was employed to determine whether students interpreted and responded to the items correctly. Content analysis was done using Tourangeau's Cognitive framework. Four CIs were conducted by an expert moderator and note-taker with a total of 8 health science students (2 groups with 3 members, and 2 one-on-one interview) for around 1 to 2 hours via Zoom following a retroactive approach with verbal and spontaneous probing, guided by a semi-structured interview questionnaire.

Various issues related to comprehension, retrieval, judgment, and response were identified, leading to significant revisions of the tool from 82 items across 8 dimensions to 53 items across 5 dimensions. The challenges included unfamiliar terminology, ambiguous phrasing, complex statements, inconsistencies and irrelevance to students' real-life experiences. These findings emphasize the importance of students' feedback in enhancing the validity and reliability of assessment tools.

The Cognitive Interview identified crucial issues in comprehension, retrieval, judgment, and response, making it essential for developing the Blended Teaching Assessment Tool and ensuring valid responses on the quality of blended teaching and learning delivery.

Human ; Health Occupations ; Education ; Philippines

BACKGROUND

Leprosy continues to pose significant health challenges globally, leading to stigma and disability when left untreated. Patient education is crucial in addressing these challenges. While traditional health lectures (THL) are widely used, they face limitations such as inconsistent delivery and low patient engagement. Video-based education (VBE) offers a more modern, scalable alternative, enhancing learning through immersive technology.

This study compared the effectiveness of VBE versus THL in improving leprosy patients’ understanding, perspectives, and quality of life (QoL) in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines

A randomized controlled trial with 1:1 allocation ratio was conducted among 57 leprosy patients, divided into VBE and THL groups. Baseline and post-intervention questionnaires measured understanding, patient perspectives, and QoL using the Dermatology Life Quality Index, collected immediately after and two weeks post-intervention. Statistical analyses included chi-squared tests, t-tests, and Pearson’s correlations.

VBE significantly improved patients’ understanding, perspectives, and QoL compared to THL. Post-intervention, 43% of VBE participants showed a high level of understanding, versus 24% in the THL group (p = 0.048). VBE had greater positive impact on patient perspectives and QoL (p = 0.011 and p = 0.046). Knowledge retention was higher in VBE group after two weeks (p = 0.0373), with improvements in understanding strongly linked to better perspectives and QoL (r = 0.54 and r = 0.65).

VBE proved more effective than THL in enhancing understanding and retention, perspectives, and QOL. With its multi-sensory, scalable format, VBE offers a promising and efficient tool for patient education, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Objectives: Psychological distress is more prevalent among medical students compared to the general population. This study describes the factors which contribute to the well-being of medical students enrolled in the UP College of Medicine, and their relationship with the students’ demographic characteristics. Methods: The modified Cardiff Medical School Well-being Questionnaire was administered to 598 students of the UP College of Medicine. The following domains were explored: acquisition of knowledge and skills, work-life balance, demands, travel and orientation, safety, culture, finances, perceived support in academics and perceived support in personal/health matters. Students also shared their insights regarding potential areas of change to enhance their engagement and performance. Demographics are presented as frequency and percentage; the relationship between the demographic characteristics and factors was analyzed through multiple linear regression. Results: The mean age of the medical student participants was 22.6 years, with an almost equal male to female ratio. The majority were single, Roman Catholic, lateral entrants, having a high socioeconomic status, and with residence in the City of Manila while in training. Medical students were least concerned about culture, safety at work, travel and orientation, and perceived support for academics. However, they were most concerned about work-life balance, demands, finance, and perceived support on personal and health matters. Conclusion Medical students expressed more concern about work-life balance, demands, finance, and perceived support on personal and health issues, and marked less concern about culture, safety at work, travel and orientation, and perceived support for academics. Across all domains, there are areas for improvement and limitations which can be further explored in future studies.
psychiatry ; mental health ; medical students ; well-being ; education

Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Counseling ; Health Education

On July 15, 2023, National Joint meeting of Deans/Directors of Schools of Public Health was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China. Focusing on the theme of"accelerating the construction of high-quality public health education system,"the conference had a warm discussion on the construction of high-level schools of public health, as well as the synergistic development of universities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs). All meeting members reached a consensus and released the"high-quality development of public health education,"which is the first declaration issued by Chinese public health experts and of milestone significance in the new era of China's public health system construction and public health talent cultivation, as well as the critical year of the construction of high-level schools of public health.
Humans ; Health Education ; China ; Public Health ; Universities