ABSTRACT
Introduction: Supporting educators has been identified as vital for the efficacy and sustainability of online teaching. The teaching of clinical skills online presents additional challenges given the vast shift from traditional pedagogies. However, the support needs of health professional educators to teach clinical skills online are unknown. The aim of this study was to explore educator experiences of teaching clinical skills online and investigate their workplace support needs. Methods: A qualitative approach using focus groups was used to investigate educator experiences at three universities in Australia, Chile and South Africa. Data were subject to thematic analysis, and a thematic network tool was used to triangulate international experiences. Results: Seven focus groups were undertaken, with a total of 32 participants. Four global themes were identified following analysis: 1) the educator experience, 2) changes to pedagogy, 3) challenges to teaching online and 4) support for educators. Conclusions: This study has highlighted the professional challenges that teaching clinical skills online creates for health professional educators and the uncertainty regarding expectations and outcomes. Enhancing university support for educators to prepare and provide clinical skills teaching online is suggested to mitigate these challenges. Recommendations are made for universities and educators to consider in the pursuit of effective and sustainable teaching of clinical skills online.
ABSTRACT
Background: Mistrust of medical and public authorities and the media in the Black community may exacerbate their COVID-19 related stress, perceptions, safety behaviors, inflammatory biomarkers and poor sleep quality. We examined this hypothesis in a sample of underserved Black adults. Methods: Black adults (n=67) recruited from a clinical setting completed assessments of medical mistrust, trust in public authorities and the media as well as a scale to assess COVID-19 related stress, perceptions, and safety behaviors. Inflammation levels were measured using C-Reactive Protein levels derived from a blood assay. Sleep Quality was indicated using apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and REM generated by a home sleep assessment tool (Itamar WatchPAT200). The association between feelings of mistrust with COVID-19 related outcomes were examined using bivariate correlations. Results: The study sample were 66% female and had a mean age of 56.1 (SD=5.1) years. Overall, participants endorsed high levels of mistrust in medical and public authorities, high levels of COVID-related stress, and low engagement in safety behaviors (see Table 1). Higher levels of medical mistrust were associated with a lower belief that reducing the number of people met in a day (r= -.258;p<.05) and avoiding public transportation (r= -.259;p<.05), would reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. Lower levels of trust in public authorities were associated with higher levels of AHI (r= -.312;p<.05), and less REM sleep (r= .444;p<.01). Lower levels of media trust were associated with higher levels of inflammation (CRP;r= -.368;p<.05) and AHI (r= -.413;p<.05). Discussion: Mistrust of medical, public authority, and media entities in the context of COVID- 19 was high in this small clinical sample. Higher levels of medical mistrust was particularly relevant to lower endorsement of important COVID-19 protective behaviors. Lower levels of trust in public authorities and media were more relevant to poorer sleep quality and greater inflammation. Rebuilding trust of these entities among under-resourced populations may be critical to forestalling the COVID-19 pandemic. Word Count: 347/400.