Issue addressed: People living with mental illness die on average 15 years earlier than the general population, primarily due to preventable and premature cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle ...interventions can be effective in reducing cardiovascular risk, yet mental health services do not routinely provide targeted lifestyle interventions. Exposing mental health staff to lifestyle interventions prior to targeting patients may be critical to changing culture and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to improve the physical health of mental health staff through a targeted lifestyle intervention.
Methods: A pragmatic single-arm intervention study was conducted in a public mental health service, including inpatient and community settings, in Sydney, Australia. Participants in this study were n = 212 clinical and non-clinical staff. A five-session individualised lifestyle intervention (delivered over 5 weeks) incorporating physical activity and nutritional counselling was delivered by multidisciplinary teams. Participants were assessed at baseline, following the intervention, and at follow-up (mean = 16.7 weeks). The primary outcome was the barriers, attitudes, knowledge and confidence regarding screening, promoting and intervening to improve physical health outcomes of patients (M-BACK questionnaire). Secondary outcomes included anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory fitness, sedentary time and nutritional intake. Repeated measures ANCOVAs were performed.
Results: A total of 212 staff (79% female) participated in this study. M-BACK total score significantly increased from baseline to follow-up (P <.001). Waist circumference, sedentary time and total energy intake all significantly decreased (all P's <.001) and cardiorespiratory fitness significantly increased (P <.001).
Conclusion: A brief lifestyle intervention for staff of a public mental health service may increase the capability of the participants to improve their own physical health.
So what? Improving staff health may be an important strategy in improving the uptake and/or the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions targeting mental health service users.
English Language teachers faced problems in assisting their students to attain a higher level of academic achievement. This problem occurred due to their low-level mastery of assessment literacy. ...Studies show that teachers are unable to assess students accordingly as they lacked the assessment skills and consequently make erroneous decisions. Even more disturbing is that most teachers still have some confusion over the 'what' and 'how' of implementing best classroom assessment practices. The purpose of this study is to review past studies to examine in-service ESL teachers' assessment literacy. As such, there is a dire need to review past studies on assessment literacy frameworks that would facilitate in-service English teachers assessing student learning outcomes and in turn lead to informed decisions and educational policy. The emphasis on social constructivist theory will assist teachers in designing assessment tasks that will involve students to take charge, be responsible to think about their learning through the use of different assessment tools.
The gap between theory and practice during initial teacher training has been an enduring topic of research due to its impact on teacher-readiness. Given the COVID-19 pandemic campus closures ...threatening to widen the gap, this research was a timely intervention aimed at connecting preservice teachers to their professional network. Specifically, the project brought together preservice drama teachers and in-service drama teachers (identified as positive mentors and practitioners) in two 90 minute online forums, to explore pedagogical perspectives and understandings. Semi-structured focus-group and individual interviews were held with 21 pre-service drama teachers. Data revealed that the lived experience shared by drama teachers assisted pre-service teachers translate theory into practice supporting the learning of their pedagogical craft, both instructionally and behaviourally. Furthermore, this collaboration appeared to enhance motivation, build connection to the drama education community and inspire pre-service students during a personally and professionally challenging time in their initial teacher training.
The quality of the data coded based on the 10
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revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) can be improved by providing continuous education and promoting the clinical coders’ ...knowledge and skills. Due to the significance of maternal health in promoting the health of society, the present study evaluated the effects of an in-service training workshop on ICD-10 coding instructions of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium for clinical coders. This applied evaluation study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a coding instructions training course focusing on the 15
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chapter of the ICD-10. The statistical population comprised 45 clinical coders working in the hospitals. The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire scored on a five-point Likert scale at the reaction level and by pretest and posttest questionnaires at the learning level. The data were then analyzed by descriptive statistics at the reaction level and by a paired-samples t-test at the learning level. The participants’ satisfaction with the training course was 94.7% on average at the reaction level. At the learning level, the results of the paired-samples t-test showed a significant difference between the means of scores before and after the training course (p=0.000). The training course led to satisfaction and enhanced the capabilities of the clinical coders with regard to coding the 15
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chapter of ICD-10. Clinical Coders must receive training on the new changes and guidelines in the other chapters of ICD-10 based on its most recent revision and employ them in the workplace.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed the in-service training of agents of the Farmers, Rural People, Nomads Social Insurance Fund (hereafter the Fund) to many problems. In-service training is one of the ...most effective development factors for organizational goals. This sort of training will increase employees' skills and subsequently improve their job performance. Accordingly, the present research mainly aimed to shed light on the effect of in-service training policy on employees' capabilities and job performance.
The research was conducted among the agents of the Fund in Fars province, Iran (
= 197) out of whom 127 agents were sampled by simple randomization. The research instrument was a standard questionnaire whose face and content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was determined by calculating Cronbach's alpha in a pilot study. The results showed that the indicators used to measure the research variables were acceptably consistent with the factor structure and the theoretical framework of the research.
Based on the findings, in-service training in the Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive and significant effect on the agents' capabilities (communication and team-working skills, creativity and problem-solving skills, commitment and responsibility, technical information and knowledge, and technical and practical skills) and job performance at the individual, technical, and general levels. Also, the agents' capabilities have had a positive and significant influence on their job performance. It can be concluded that in-service training can influence the agents' capabilities and job performance and improve organizational performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the enhancement of in-service training courses' quantity and quality during the COVID-19 pandemic can influence the job performance of the agents at the individual, general, and technical performance levels.
Introduction: Interprofessional collaboration and effective teamwork are core to optimising rural health outcomes; however, little is known about the opportunities available for interprofessional ...education (IPE) in rural clinical learning environments. This integrative literature review addresses this deficit by identifying, analysing and synthesising the research available about the nature of and potential for IPE provided to undergraduate students undertaking rural placements, the settings and disciplines involved and the outcomes achieved. Methods: An integrative review method was adopted to capture the breadth of evidence available about IPE in the rural context. This integrative review is based on a search of nine electronic databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Search terms were adapted to suit those used by different disciplines and each database and included key words related to IPE, rurality, undergraduate students and clinical placement. The inclusion criteria included primary research and reports of IPE in rural settings, peer reviewed, and published in English between 2000 and mid-2016. Results: This review integrates the results of 27 primary research studies undertaken in seven countries: Australia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Tanzania. Despite geographical, cultural and health system differences, all of the studies reviewed were concerned with developing collaborative, interprofessional practice-ready graduates and adopted a similar mix of research methods. Overall, the 27 studies involved more than 3800 students (range 3-1360) from 36 disciplinary areas, including some not commonly associated with interprofessional education, such as theology. Interprofessional education was provided in a combination of university and rural placement settings including hospitals, community health services and other rural venues. The education activities most frequently utilised were seminars, tutorial discussion groups (n=21, 84%), case presentations (n=11, 44%) and community projects (n=11, 44%) augmented by preliminary orientation and ongoing interaction with clinicians during placement. The studies reviewed demonstrate that rural clinical learning environments provide rich and varied IPE opportunities for students that increase their interprofessional understanding, professional respect for other roles, and awareness of the collaborative and interprofessional nature of rural practice. Conclusion: This review addresses the lack of attention given to understanding IPE in the rural context, provides Australian and international evidence that initiatives are being offered to diverse student groups undertaking placements in rural settings and proposes a research agenda to develop a relevant framework to support rural IPE. Rural clinical learning environments afford a rich resource whereby health professionals can conceptualise IPE creatively and holistically to construct transformative learning experiences for students. This review develops a case for supporting the development, trialling, evaluation and translation of IPE initiatives that harness the opportunities afforded by rural placements. Further research is required to examine the ways to optimise IPE opportunities in the rural clinical context, including the potential for simulation-based activities, the challenges to achieving sustainable programs, and to evaluate the impact of interprofessional education on collaboration and health outcomes.
The current study aimed to examine the perceptions of primary school teachers in different periods of their professional life regarding what constitutes professional development and their experiences ...with reformed professional development courses. Teachers (N = 45) were enrolled in the study from three professional life periods (entry-level, advanced, and expert) as defined by the Israeli Ministry of Education, largely on the basis of years of teaching experience. Their perceptions were examined in semi-structured interviews. Teachers in all periods of their professional life seek to learn material that they can apply in teaching, student learning, or assessment contexts in their schools and classroom. Entry-level teachers overwhelmingly desire to pursue professional learning goals that extend beyond the current focus on classroom competence. Entry-level and advanced teachers express a preference to learn in workshops, which offer participatory learning experiences. For expert teachers in Israel, consideration should be given to removing the compulsory nature of formal professional development, while enabling them to pursue courses beyond their discipline and according to their interests. All three groups suggest that course content should be better mapped to teachers' needs. These findings are consistent with the life phase model of teachers' professional development.
As states adopt more rigorous academic standards, schools must define how special education fits into standards-aligned curricula, instruction, and assessment. Utilizing PLC practices, general and ...special educators must develop collaborative partnerships in order to close the achievement gap and maximize learning for all. The authors encourage "all" educators to take collective responsibility in improving outcomes for students with special needs. Use the key ideas and four critical questions of a PLC to maximize learning for all students. Learn when conditions make special education services most effective. Determine priority standards, and study the steps for unpacking these standards into learning targets. Discover what tailored instruction does and does not mean. Consider common team structures that support effective collaboration. Develop instructional plans using reproducibles.
Objective: to analyze the continuous education requirements of the nursing team of a public teaching hospital in southern Brazil. Method: documental, descriptive and quantitative-qualitative study, ...based on documents completed by nursing professionals in 2016 for the evaluation of the continuous education program of this hospital. In the data analysis, statistical functions of the Biostat5.3® and IRAMUTEQ® programs were used. Results: 72 (48%) documents completed by urgency/emergency professionals; 140 (54.93%) reports of not participating in educational actions due to not knowing; 108 (38.3%) requests for educational actions for technical-scientific updating. Regarding the expectations about the program, six classes were defined: presentation of the program; divulgation of the actions; educational actions related to the healthcare units; distance and in-sector educational actions; availability of schedules for the educational action; scale for the participation of the professionals in these actions. Conclusion: the documental analysis of these requirements supports the planning and improvement of continuous nursing education proposals.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is extensively used in pre- and post-graduate teaching programmes. However, it has been seldom used for in-service training and continuing medical education. We aimed to ...develop a PBL curriculum for a short in-service training on breastfeeding for maternal and child health professionals, and to assess the effect of these courses on their knowledge and skills. Also, the project aimed at increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates and duration in an Italian region.
After initial training on PBL and an assessment of the learning needs of about 400 health professionals, a small working group developed learning objectives, designed a curriculum, produced manuals, and shaped assessment tools for a new PBL course on breastfeeding. The field test of the new course allowed selection of the tutors for the scaling up of the training to the whole region. During this extension phase, participants were asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire. In addition, the health professionals who attended the PBL courses in 2019 were asked to complete an online survey to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) just before, soon after the course, and 4-6 months later.
The new 29 - hour PBL course, to be delivered in four days over four consecutive weeks, gives priority to tutorial groups and practical activities (71% of the total time). Supervised clinical practices absorb 16% of time. Ethics, communication and woman-centred clinical management content run throughout the four days and all activities. The three manuals, for tutors, participants and practical activities, facilitate the tasks and performance of tutors and participants. After the field test, 32 regional tutors ran courses for 562 health professionals. The analysis of the evaluation showed a high level of satisfaction for perceived effectiveness, relevance to practice, and educational quality. The KAP questionnaires indicated a general improvement after the course and retention after 4-6 months.
Despite some predictable shortcomings, this new PBL approach for short in-service training courses on breastfeeding showed encouraging results as far as participants' satisfaction and KAP are concerned. The possible effects on rates and duration of exclusive breastfeeding need further research.
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