Suzanne F. Jackson, Lindsey Thompson, Aaron Thompson, Rachel Zulla Dalla Lana School of Public Health CPHA May 28, 2014

Background Multidisciplinary Curriculum Review Task Force set competencies in common for all students Core course for ALL incoming Masters and PhD students to DLSPH, for streams in: Epidemiology Biostatistics Health promotion Community Nutrition Occupational and Environmental Health Community Medicine MHScCH programs PhD programs in Epi, Soc & Behav Sci, Biostats + others (e.g. Public Health Dentistry)

Competencies to be Addressed Knowledge Competencies: Knowledge of Canada’s public health system Recognize role of SDOH in health & well-being Communicate effectively using current technology Apply approaches suited to diverse populations “Softer” Process Competencies: Team-building, conflict mgmt, group facilitation Collaborative problem-solving Appreciate strengths of different disciplines Set priorities within limits of resources

Design Elements of Course Knowledge/Content Components: Short lectures (1 hr) with longer workshops (2 hr) On-line PHAC public health course Focus on case study in each team to apply concepts Process Learning Components: Small group work in self-led inter-disciplinary teams Skills-building workshops Individual Reflection papers on interdisciplinary work Masters students mixed, PhD students in 1 group Poster & workshop re communication skills

Case Studies - Content 7 case studies prepared on different issues Located in real communities in Canada with real data In 4 sessions, students tasked to: identify nature of the issue and the community, identify the root causes, propose possible solutions. 3 group reports on above tasks + poster presentation

Case Studies - Process Interdisciplinary groups of students created Required to rotate the roles of moderator, time-keeper, minute-taker, recorder at each session Given questions to ask from different streams or “disciplines” (students do not know their public health discipline yet) Individual reflection papers re interdisciplinary work

Objectives of Case Studies Identify the root causes (social, political, historical, etc.) of a health issue; Unpack the health issue using an interdisciplinary perspective; Negotiate the dynamics of working with diverse disciplines to set health priorities for a community; Co-create resolutions that fit the community’s context; Experiment with types of research and data used to support solutions.

Evaluation Methods Hard copy evaluations for all students: At end of first week In December, at end of last case study session At end of last day in February After each skills development workshop Quantitative analysis and themes for qualitative answers 170 students (13 PhD)

Process Results /170 responded to Sept evaluation (93%) Very enthusiastic response to speakers & workshops with only 1 session receiving score <4 out of 5. Students liked the breadth of topics covered, engaging speakers, Last Straw game, small group work Students did not like long hours, jam-packed sessions, feeling rushed 140/157 Masters re Dec eval re case studies (89%) mean scores re quality & usefulness of case study small group work lowest scores for relevance to field of study

Process Results /13 PhD students responded re case studies (77%) Scores 2.2 – 3.6 re usefulness and quality of case study work in small groups Highest scores for respect within team and workload distribution (>4) and for opportunity to build interdisciplinary relationships (3.8) 103/170 students answered Feb eval (60%) Usefulness & quality of speakers scored 2.6 – 4.1

Knowledge Results CompetencyResults Knowledge of Canada’s public health system 100% students completed PHAC on-line course (no assessment of knowledge) - Overall rating of usefulness of course – 3.1 Recognize role of SDOH in health & well-being All case study group reports did a reasonable to excellent job of identifying root causes of health issues (poor job of ident root causes in final eval) Communicate effectively using current technology All posters were well designed, in colour, clear presentation of results -One game + one video poster as radio interview - No “new” social media required Apply approaches suited to diverse populations -Diverse populations addressed in each case -In final reports and posters, students demonstrated ability to identify & address inequities

Soft Skills Results CompetencyResults Team-building, conflict mgmt, group facilitation -98% students took the 2 courses -Reflection papers demonstrated understanding of group process Collaborative problem-solving-Groups produced required products but some students reported doing more work than others -High score among PhD students for workload distribution (<4) Appreciate strengths of different disciplines - Opportunity to build interdisciplinary relationships valued by PhD students (3.8) - Overall good rating for exposure to different public health disciplines (3.6) Set priorities within limits of resources - Each team was able to propose a solution – not all were the best use of resources

Lessons Learned Content aspects of course were very good Process aspects need improvement: 15 people in one group too big for group work – need to be in smaller groups of 6-8 students Students did not always “see” their discipline in the case study (e.g. OEH, biostats) Role of mentors is helpful in case study work Timing of professional skills workshops did not work out well for some groups PhD students have different competency needs