Evaluation of an undergraduate occupational health program in Iran based on alumni perceptions: a structural equation model / 보건의료교육평가

PURPOSE: Evaluating educational programs can improve the quality of education. The present study evaluated the undergraduate occupational health program at the Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Semnan, Iran, with a focus on the associations between alumni perceptions of the learning environment and the outcomes of the occupational health program. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among alumni of the undergraduate occupational health program. We asked alumni to rate their perceptions of the items using a 4-point Likert scale. The associations between alumni perceptions of the educational program and curriculum, faculty, institutional resources, and learning outcomes were modeled and described using structural equation modeling procedures. RESULTS: A descriptive analysis of alumni perceptions indicated low evaluations for the administrative system, practical and research-based courses, and the number of faculty members. We found that a structural model of the evaluation variables of curriculum, faculty qualifications, and institutional resources significantly predicted undergraduate educational outcomes. The curriculum had direct and indirect effects on learning outcomes, mediated by faculty. CONCLUSION: The findings of our study highlight the usefulness of the structural equation modeling approach for examining links between variables related to the learning process and learning outcomes. Surveys of alumni can provide data for reassessing the learning environment in the light of the professional competencies needed for occupational health graduates.

Assessment of right ventricular function in children with congenital heart disease Doppler tissue imaging

To assess right ventricular dysfunction in children with congenital heart disease [CHD] by measurement of tricuspid annular diastolic velocity Aa/Ea ratio by doppler tissue imaging [DTI]. A case-control study was performed on 141 children with CHD who were referred to Aliasghar Hospital of Zahedan, Iran for cardiac catheterization from April 2004 to December 2005. Tricuspid inflow velocity [A/E ratio] and Aa/Ea ratio was measured by DTI. Patients were catheterized afterwards. Cumulative data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences and evaluated using t-test and correlation. There was significant correlation between Aa/Ea ratio by DTI, and hemodynamic criteria derived at catheterization. It was also diagnosed that 77 patients of 141 had right ventricular dysfunction by DTI, whereas 74 of them showed this problem at catheterization. The sensitivity of this method for evaluation of right ventricular dysfunction was 95%, and specificity was 98%. The positive predictive value 95%, and negative predictive value 98% were assessed. Finding of this study showed that we can use DTI for diagnosis of right ventricular dysfunction in children with CHD, and it can be used instead of catheterization especially in unstable patients