Abstracts of Current Literature

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Fall 2004 by Mahajan, Chetna, Collins, Jennifer, Tasso, Kay H, Komagata, Sachiko, Et al

Developing and evaluating patient education materials. Monsivais D, Reynolds A. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. 2003:34:172-176.

It is becoming increasingly commonplace for patients to be discharged early from the hospital, resulting in patients being required to manage their disease at home. This, coupled with the shortage of nursing staff and chronicity of health conditions in the older population, has increased the need for designing understandable and meaningful patient education materials. The purpose of this article is to highlight the critical need for nurses to take leading roles as patient educators. Expert nurses have high literacy skills compared to the general population, but do not receive the necessary education for preparing educational materials for the functionally illiterate patients that constitute 20% (23 million) of the adult American population. The authors present helpful guidelines for creating suitable and easy-to-read patient education materials. The topics covered in the article include: producing new or adapting existing educational material; critically evaluating Internet Web sites for accuracy, currency, credibility, and objectivity; assessing the readability of the appraised material; using tools such as the SMOG Formula and Fry Graphs to assess the reading level of the text based on word and sentence length; and rewriting the material at a lower readability level. The article also offers useful suggestions for savvy consumers who access the Internet to obtain health information. The authors conclude that nurses need to take an active role in the development and review of patient teaching materials, both print and online, to ensure patient comprehensibility.

Chetna Mahajan, PT

University of Indianapolis

Indianapolis, JN

Managing staff development for on-line education: a situated learning model. Taylor, Janet A. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 2003;23(1):75-87.

The concepts and benefits of situated learning (that learning will only take place when embedded in the pertinent social and physical context) have been well described in the educational literature. This case study describes the application of a situated learning model to one institution's approach to implementing an expansive distance learning component. In response to the growth in technology available to educational institutions, the University of Queensland (USQ) in Australia, initiated distance learning in 1977. In the 1990s, USQ integrated staff development to enhance this teaching and learning method as an element of its strategic planning. The distance learning component of the university has grown to 20,000 students from more than 30 countries.

The author describes the process by which staff development became a team effort to address the needs of both teachers and learners engaged in online education. In contrast to typical staff development departments, this multidisciplinary team consisted of experienced online teachers, instructional designers, information technology developers, student support specialists, and resource managers from throughout the university. This team designed an initiative to promote online instruction that exemplified the ideas of situated learning. The article provides the reader with a description of the stages of staff development implementation with a detailed timeline. There were three components of implementation that were considered at each stage: pedagogy, procedures, and resources. The team produced three main outcomes: a how-to guide, the creation of a committee for staff and student support, and a Web site for widespread dissemination of staff development activities throughout the university.

The team approach to staff development resulted in the first fully online teaching program designed by academic specialists in distance learning, titled "USQ Graduate Certificate on Open and Distance Learning." Through this program, training for online teaching occurred via a three-stage cycle. Learners could enter the cycle at any point. One point, typically for novice learners, was described as the face-to-face awareness session. The next stage was for staff to attend an actual training session, which resulted in online access at any time for practice. The final stage was participation in online discussion and reflection. This cyclic model allows flexibility for both novices and experts to use the system as needed.

The author provides some evaluative information regarding the program. As of 2001, 39% of all academic staff had participated in the face-to-face sessions and found the objectives to be clear, well-structured, and achievable. The online users group has 105 members. In addition, the author provides an example of situated learning and the authentic context it suggests to promote the learning necessary to support changes in technology and the ways that universities conduct their business.

Jennifer Cotlins, PT, MPA, EdD

Nazareth College

Rochester, NY

The long-term effects of a self-management program for inner-city primary care patients with acute low hack pain. Damush TM, Weinberger M, Perkins SM, Rao JK. Arch Intern Med. 2003; 163:2632-2638.