Teaching Public Health Networks in England: An innovative approach to building public health capacity and capability

How the "Understanding Research Evidence" Web-Based Video Series From the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools Contributes to Public Health Capacity to Practice Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Mixed-Methods Evaluation

BACKGROUND

The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) offers workshops and webinars to build public health capacity for evidence-informed decision-making. Despite positive feedback for NCCMT workshops and resources, NCCMT users found key terms used in research papers difficult to understand. The Understanding Research Evidence (URE) videos use plain language, cartoon visuals, and public health examples to explain complex research concepts. The videos are posted on the NCCMT website and YouTube channel.

OBJECTIVE

The first four videos in the URE web-based video series, which explained odds ratios (ORs), confidence intervals (CIs), clinical significance, and forest plots, were evaluated. The evaluation examined how the videos affected public health professionals' practice. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the delivery mode and the content of the videos. Specifically, the evaluation explored (1) whether the videos were effective at increasing knowledge on the four video topics, (2) whether public health professionals were satisfied with the videos, and (3) how public health professionals applied the knowledge gained from the videos in their work.

METHODS

A three-part evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the first four URE videos. The evaluation included a Web-based survey, telephone interviews, and pretest and posttests, which evaluated public health professionals' experience with the videos and how the videos affected their public health work. Participants were invited to participate in this evaluation through various open access, public health email lists, through informational flyers and posters at the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) conference, and through targeted recruitment to NCCMT's network.

RESULTS

In the Web-based surveys (n=46), participants achieved higher scores on the knowledge assessment questions from watching the OR (P=.04), CI (P=.04), and clinical significance (P=.05) videos but not the forest plot (P=.12) video, as compared with participants who had not watched the videos. The pretest and posttest (n=124) demonstrated that participants had a better understanding of forest plots (P<.001) and CIs (P<.001) after watching the videos. Due to small sample size numbers, there were insufficient pretest and posttest data to conduct meaningful analyses on the clinical significance and OR videos. Telephone interview participants (n=18) thought the videos' use of animation, narration, and plain language was appropriate for people with different levels of understanding and learning styles. Participants felt that by increasing their understanding of research evidence, they could develop better interventions and design evaluations to measure the impact of public health initiatives.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the results of the evaluation showed that watching the videos resulted in an increase in knowledge, and participants had an overall positive experience with the URE videos. With increased competence in using the best available evidence, professionals are empowered to contribute to decisions that can improve health outcomes of communities.

A multiple case study of intersectoral public health networks: experiences and benefits of using research

Background

Network partnerships between public health and third sector organisations are being used to address the complexities of population level social determinants of health and health equity. An understanding of how these networks use research and knowledge is crucial to effective network design and outcome evaluation. There is, however, a gap in the literature regarding how public health networks use research and knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to report on the qualitative findings from a larger study that explored (1) the experiences of public health networks with using research and knowledge, and (2) the perceived benefits of using research and knowledge.

Methods

A multiple case study approach framed this study. Focus group data were collected from participants through a purposive sample of four public health networks. Data were analyzed using Framework Analysis and Nvivo™ software supported data management. Each network had the opportunity to participate in data interpretation.

Results

All networks used published research studies and other types of knowledge to accomplish their work, although in each network research and knowledge played different but complementary roles. Neither research nor other types of knowledge were privileged, and an approach that blended varied knowledge types was typically used. Network experiences with research and knowledge produced individual and collective benefits. A novel finding was that research and knowledge were both important in shaping network function.

Conclusions

This study shifts the focus in the current literature from public health departments to the community setting where public health collaborates with a broader spectrum of actors to ameliorate health inequities. Both formal research and informal knowledge were found to be important for collaborative public health networks. Examining the benefits of research and knowledge use within public health networks may help us to better understand the relationships among process (the collaborative use of research and knowledge), structure (networks) and outcomes (benefits).

Continuing professional development for public health: an andragogical approach

The UK professional body for public health, the Faculty of Public Health (FPH), has a well-established approach towards continuing professional development (CPD) for its members and fellows. The FPH approach, initially designed for public health physicians, has evolved to meet CPD requirements of a workforce beyond that of public health medicine to what is now a multiprofessional public health workforce. Despite over 20 years of CPD activity in the field of public health, limited literature examines the underlying theoretical principles, or proposes the most effective approach to adopt. Public health CPD is a mandatory requirement for ongoing practice in many professional groups; it is therefore timely to examine theoretical principles and to propose the adoption of an andragogical approach to underpin CPD for all disciplines in public health. This paper concludes that adopting an andragogical approach to public health CPD, supported with critical reflective practice and undertaken in an ethical and moral framework, will equip practitioners to be ready to question practice, implement innovation and progress, and meet the challenges of a multiprofessional public health service.

Improving emergency preparedness capability of rural public health personnel in China

OBJECTIVES

Since the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian influenza, improving the emergency preparedness capability of rural public health personnel has become a new priority in building the infrastructure needed to address public health emergencies. The Chinese Government has carried out a series of emergency preparedness education and training programmes to improve the emergency preparedness capability of rural public health personnel nationwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and develop a participatory emergency preparedness training programme for rural public health personnel.

STUDY DESIGN

The research emphasizes the major components of instructional design, including assessing, designing, delivering and evaluating training. The approach is an integrated system with results from one phase influencing the next, so that a series of steps are followed when developing, implementing and evaluating emergency preparedness training.

METHODS

The 226 participants were rural public health personnel from 84 different rural centres for disease control and prevention in China. The programme was evaluated by anonymous questionnaires and semi-structured interviews held prior to training, immediately post-training and 12-months after training (follow-up).

RESULTS

The emergency preparedness training resulted in positive shifts in knowledge and skills for rural public health personnel. At follow-up, the knowledge and skill scores of participants declined slightly compared with the post-test levels (P>0.05). However, there was a significant increase compared with the pre-test levels (P<0.01). Moreover, more than 90% of participants reported that this training provided a valuable learning experience and reinforced the importance of emergency preparedness.

CONCLUSIONS

The emergency preparedness training programme was effective and feasible in improving the performance of rural public health personnel on emergency response. Further studies are needed to test the efficacy of the training approach for competency improvement.