Realizing Promising Educational Practices in Academic Public Health: A Model for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

This paper presents a conceptual framework and critical considerations for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in academic public health. Academic education for public health has undergone significant transformation over the last two decades as the demand for responsive and innovative public health pedagogy and training for preparing graduates to deploy an increasing array of skills has grown. The authors suggest that the role of schools, administrators, faculty, and educational staff in developing promising practices for teaching and learning in public health involves an articulated conceptual framework to guide the development and dissemination of scholarly, pedagogical innovations. Building on seminal philosophical foundations of SoTL, the authors conceptualize SoTL from the foundational belief that knowing and learning are communal tasks and that faculty are both scholars and learners in the practice of education. The paper advocates for SoTL as a form of engaged practice and scholarly inquiry that exists in contextually rich, diverse educational environments that abounds with uncertainty. SoTL is guided by an educational philosophy, values, and learning theories that envision educators critically examining themselves, their teaching practice, scholarly literature, and students' learning to improve their teaching, enhance learning, and promote further inquiry. The authors suggest that SoTL involves the search for multiple forms of evidence and fosters dialogues on multiple interpretations and perspectives of the most promising practices of teaching and learning. The authors advocate for the term promising practices as an outcome of SoTL that supports and nurtures ongoing scientific discovery and knowledge generation, instead of supporting the search for best-ness in teaching and learning endeavors. SoTL should occur across formal, informal, and nonformal education.

Willingness of Australian health educators and health promotion officers to conduct rapid HIV testing.

Issue addressed: Rapid HIV tests were recently approved by the Australian government. This paper examines the attitudes and willingness to conduct rapid HIV testing (RHT) of Australian health educators and health promotion officers (HE/HPO) from various settings and disciplines.Methods: The aim of the Promoting Research on Methods in Screening Expertise study was to explore knowledge of HIV, attitudes towards people living with HIV, and willingness to conduct RHT among HE/HPO in Australia; this information was attained via an online survey of HE/HPO. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, t-tests, and multivariate logistic regression were then conducted.Results: Data from 156 HE/HPOs were analysed. Overall, 60% of participants believed that HE/HPO should offer RHT. Additionally, 70% were personally willing to undergo training in conducting RHT. Fifty-nine percent of participants scored as having 'high' HIV knowledge (at least 12 out of 13 correct answers), with 32% answering all questions correctly. Knowledge was strongly associated with willingness to be trained to conduct RHT.Conclusions: HE/HPO with advanced training in developing evidence-based approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of marginalised and disadvantaged groups may be an appropriate workforce to train to conduct RHT and counselling.So what?: As government agencies and community-based organisations plan to expand RHT, HE/HPO, including those who work outside of sexual health, should be considered as a viable workforce to upskill.

Willingness of Certified Health Education Specialists to Conduct Rapid HIV Testing: Results From the Promoting Research on Methods in Screening Expertise Study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 16% of people living with HIV are not aware of their infection. Health education specialists, with their training in health program design, implementation, evaluation, and work with vulnerable communities, may have the necessary expertise to conduct rapid HIV testing (RHT). METHOD: A national, cross-sectional, online survey of Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and Master CHES (MCHES) was conducted from April to October 2013, with participants recruited through the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing. We surveyed CHES/MCHES on HIV knowledge and attitudes as well as willingness to conduct RHT. RESULTS: A total of 1,421 CHES/MCHES completed the survey, with a median age of 32 years and median level of 7 years of experience. The majority were White (70.3%), female (91.7%), and heterosexual (93.1%). The majority of respondents had high knowledge of HIV (69.7%), thought that CHES/MCHES should offer RHT (75.2%), and was willing to get trained/certified to conduct RHT (80.3%). Those willing to get trained/certified were more likely to feel comfortable educating clients about HIV prevention methods (p < .001) and planning health promotion programs for people living with HIV (p < .001). Perceived barriers to conducting RHT were related to lack of knowledge of RHT counseling (34.8%) and procedures (25%). CONCLUSIONS: CHES/MCHES have the potential to play a significant role in increasing the availability of HIV testing, and the majority of respondents expressed a willingness to become involved. However, training and implementation barriers were identified. Piloting such an approach should be considered to further evaluate the optimum ways in which expanding HIV testing can be achieved.