Quality Assessment of Online Patient Education Materials for Diabetic Foot

Background: The quality of online Arabic educational materials for diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) is unknown. This study evaluated Arabic websites as patients’ sources of information for DFS. Methods: The study assessed patient-related websites about DFS using a modified Ensuring Quality of Information for Patients (EQIP) tool (score 0 - 35). Specific terms were searched in Google to identify DFS websites;eligibility criteria were applied to 20 pages of search results to select the included websites. Data on country of origin, source types and subtypes, and website traffic were extracted. Additional therapeutic information regarding prevention and conservative, pharmacological, and surgical treatments was also recorded and analyzed. Results: Among 559 websites, 157 were eligible for inclusion. The median EQIP score was 16 out of 35, indicating poor quality in one of three domains (content, identification, or structure). Most sources originated from Arab countries (75.8%) were non-governmental (94.9%), and were medical information websites (46.5%). High-scoring websites were significantly more likely than low-scoring websites to describe information on prevention (30.9% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.001), conservative treatment (34.1% vs. 13%, p = 0.002), or pharmacological treatment (32.5% vs. 16.8%, p = 0.024). There were increased odds of scoring high if a website provided information on prevention (OR = 12.9, 95% CI [1.68 - 98.57], p = 0.014). Conclusion: Most Arabic online patient information on DFS is of poor quality. Quality control measures are needed to ensure accurate health information for the public.

Towards Automated Assessment of Learning Management Systems in Higher Education Institutions in Zambia

Zambia like any other country in most African regions is still grappling with the dynamics of harnessing technology for the betterment of Higher Education. The onset of the Covid 19 pandemic brought a test for the preparedness of the Zambian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in harnessing technology for pedagogical activities. As countries worldwide switched to electronic learning during the pandemic, the same could not be said for Zambian HEIs. Zambian HEIs struggled to conduct pedagogical activities on learning management platforms. This study investigated the factors affecting the implementation and assessment of learning Management systems in Zambia’s HEIs. With its focus on assessing: 1) system features, 2) compliance with regulatory standards, 3) quality of service and 4) technology acceptance as the four key assessment areas of an LMS, this article proposed a model for assessing learning management systems in Zambian HEIs. To test the proposed model, a software tool was also developed.

Ultrasound Scanning Competencies in Midwifery Education in Zambia: Findings from a Desk Review and Needs Assessment

Introduction: Ultrasound is an essential component of antenatal care. Midwives provide most of the antenatal care but they do not perform ultrasound as it has been beyond their scope of practice. This leaves many women in Low and Middle-Income Countries without access to ultrasound scanning. The aim of this study was to identify competencies in ultrasound scanning in midwifery education. Methods: A desk review and needs assessment were conducted between July and October 2023. Articles and curricula on the internet, Google scholar and PubMed were searched for content on ultrasound scanning competencies. A Google form consisting of 20 questions was administered via email and WhatsApp to 135 participants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data. Results: The desk review showed that it is feasible to train midwives in ultrasound scanning. The training programs for midwives in obstetric ultrasound were conducted for 1 week to 3 months with most of them running for 4 weeks. Content included introduction to general principles of ultrasound, physics, basic knowledge in embryology, obstetrics, anatomy, measuring foetal biometry, estimating amniotic fluid and gestational age. Experts like sonographers trained midwives. Theory and hands on were the teaching methods used. Written and practical assessments were conducted. Needs assessment revealed that majority of participants 71 (53%) knew about basic ultrasound training for midwives. All participants (100%) said it is necessary to train midwives in basic ultrasound scan in Zambia. Some content should include, anatomy, measuring foetal biometry, assessing amniotic fluid level, and gestational age determination. Most participants 91 (67%) suggested that the appropriate duration of training is 4 - 6 weeks. Conclusion: Empowering every midwife with ultrasound scanning skills will enable early detection of any abnormality among pregnant women and prompt intervention to save lives.

A study evaluating the effect of Educational Needs Assessment Tool (ENAT) focused patient education, on health outcomes in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Protocol of an ongoing study

Aims and objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a patient education tool (the ENAT) on self efficacy, patient knowledge, health outcomes and its usability in practice. Background: The effectiveness and value of patient education in rheumatoid arthritis have been questioned. The ENAT was developed to help the nurses to provide more focused, individualized and relevant education. The psychometric properties of the ENAT have been assessed. Design: This study is a single blind randomized controlled trial using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. The primary outcome is patient self efficacy. Secondary outcomes are physical function, psychological status, pain levels, social interaction and patient knowledge of disease. Methods: 130 RA patients will be randomized into an experimental (EG) or control group (CG). The EG patients will complete the ENAT prior to seeing a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at weeks 0, 16 and 32. The CNS will use the ENAT as a template to meet patients perceived educational needs in addition to the usual care. The CG will receive their usual care from the CNS without the aid of the ENAT. To determine the ENAT’s usability, semi-structured quailtative interviews will take place with the practitioners and a sample of patients once they have completed the quantitative arm of the study. Results: The study commenced in April 2011 and the results are expected to be available after April 2013. Conclusions: It is hypothesized that nurses’ use of the ENAT will lead to increased patient self efficacy, and improved patient knowledge and health outcomes among the patients who used it. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the ENAT will be easy for staff and patients to use. Relevance to clinical practice: The ENAT was developed to assess the perceived educational needs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and thus help the nurses to provide more focused, individualised and relevant education.

Assessment Methods Used during Clinical Years of Undergraduate Medical Education at Moi University School of Medicine, Kenya

Background: Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken to improve teaching and learning. It ensures quality in training programmes, motivates, and directs students’ learning. Assessment is also used for verification of achievement of objectives of training, feedback to students, licencing, certification, and screening of students for advanced training. It is guided by several principles, including the aims of the assessment (why assess), who to assess, timing (when to assess), what to assess, methods (how to assess), and the criteria for determining the usefulness of the assessment. Objective: To describe the assessment methods used during clinical years of the undergraduate programme at Moi University School of Medicine (MUSOM) and determine the student’s perspectives concerning the comprehensiveness, relevance, objectivity of various assessment methods and challenges faced. Methodology: The study was carried out at MUSOM and a cross-sectional study design was employed. Ten study participants were studied using convenience sampling. Data were collected using an interview guide and was analyzed using content analysis. An informed consent was obtained from the study participants. Results: The methods used during clinical years at MUSOM for assessing knowledge and its applications include multiple-choice questions (MCQ), short answer questions (SAQ), modified essay questions (MEQ), long essay questions (LEQ), and oral exam. Whereas the methods for assessing clinical competence include long case, short cases, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), and logbook. Students felt that MCQs were comprehensive, objective, and relevant to the curriculum content. They reported that feedback was not provided after assessments. Conclusion: The assessment methods used at MUSOM during clinical years include MCQ, SAQ, MEQ, LEQ, Short cases, long cases, and OSCE. Students reported varied perceptions of the different assessment methods but favored MCQ and OSCE over other formats for assessing knowledge and clinical skills respectively.

Pre-Operative Assessment and Education

Introduction: Surgery is a major event in an individual’s life. The complete surgical episode is known as perioperative period. Perioperative nursing in general includes three phases;pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative. The first and initial phase (pre-operative) involves the rendering of nursing care to the patients who are planned to undergo surgery (Spry, 2005) [1]. It was evident through literature that during this phase, assessment and education of the patient is the prime responsibility of health care providers to minimize the risk during the surgery and to have better outcomes of the patients. Hence, a seven weeks project was initiated at surgical care units of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. In this project, based on the need assessment, education sessions were conducted for the health care workers which were followed by the distribution of flash cards for their references. In addition, file review and pre operative patient’s interview was conducted for the outcome evaluation. Purpose: To create awareness among healthcare workers to minimize the risk of morbidity and mortality of patients undergoing surgery and to reinforce nurses of surgical areas for the accurate assessment and education of patients, undergoing surgery. Methodology: All three surgical care units of the University teaching hospital were selected as project site and to conduct the project, permission and verbal consent was obtained from manager of these units. A total of 30 patients undergoing surgery were included in the project and were followed for their complete pre-operative assessment and education by nurses and other health care workers. For the data collection, a tool for pre operative assessment and education was developed. Based on the assessment, altogether three educational sessions were conducted for all health care workers working in the surgical care areas. Data was tabulated in Excel and percentages were calculated to analyze the data of before and after the education sessions. Results: Results revealed that education sessions increased the health care worker’s knowledge for assessing all the necessary components of a patient before surgery. Additionally, these sessions enhanced nurses’ awareness regarding the risks the patients might undergo before and after the surgery and how to prevent those risks through a thorough assessment and education of preoperative patients. Conclusion: Nurses and other health care providers should perform a complete and thorough assessment and provide necessary education to patients’ undergoing surgery in order to reduce the bounce back rate from operating room and to avoid any kind of risk for their patients undergoing for any surgical procedure.

Teaching Physical Assessment and Disease Screening to Students in the Health Professions: A Focus in Pharmacy Education

Background: As pharmacists continue to transition into the provision of public health care, physical assessment and disease screening will become part of their everyday practice, in a similar manner that it has been for doctors and nurses. Objective: The aim was to describe the health assessment of undergraduate curricula across three disciplines involved in public health care and to explore the students’ perceived training in a variety of health assessments. Method: Instructors of courses related to health assessment in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy colleges in Qatar were invited to participate in the curriculum review process. Students’ perceived training in a variety of health assessments was assessed using a self-administered survey. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the survey responses. Results: A narrative description for the similarities and differences in the health assessment curricula across the three colleges was provided. Blood pressure, heart rate, and heart sounds were the health assessments that almost all students received training on, although there were differences in where the training was delivered. The health assessments that the students perceived having received least training on were measuring bone mineral density, blood cholesterol and international normalized ratio reported by only 37%, 41% and 44% of students, respectively. Conclusion: The study identified a close alignment between each of the health discipline’s scope of practice and the health assessment content taught in each individual program. It also identified possible curricular gaps towards learning the skills of patient assessment that may need to be addressed.

Behavior analysis and formative assessments in online oral medicine education during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND During the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,traditional teaching methods were disrupted and online teaching became a new topic in education reform and informatization.In this context,it is important to investigate the necessity and effectiveness of online teaching methods for medical students.This study explored stomatology education in China to evaluate the development and challenges facing the field using massive open online courses(MOOCs)for oral medicine education during the pandemic.AIM To investigate the current situation and challenges facing stomatology education in China,and to assess the necessity and effectiveness of online teaching methods among medical students.METHODS Online courses were developed and offered on personal computers and mobile terminals.Behavioral analysis and formative assessments were conducted to evaluate the learning status of students.RESULTS The results showed that most learners had already completed MOOCs and achieved better results.Course behavior analysis and student surveys indicated that students enjoyed the learning experience.However,the development of oral MOOCs during the COVID-19 pandemic faced significant challenges.CONCLUSION This study provides insights into the potential of using MOOCs to support online professional learning and future teaching innovation,but emphasizes the need for careful design and positive feedback to ensure their success.

Research on the Performance Assessment Mechanism of Accurate Poverty Alleviation in Vocational Education

Vocational education is an effective way to achieve accurate poverty alleviation and get rid of intergenerational poverty.Vocational education is mainly to train skilled talents,not only to provide academic education for the children of poor families,but also to use a skill to achieve employment.It is of great necessity to implement accurate poverty alleviation in vocational education,and performance assessment is a very important part of the accurate poverty alleviation work of vocational education.This paper mainly analyzes the predicament of accurate poverty alleviation in vocational education and the problems in the construction of performance assessment system for accurate poverty alleviation in vocational education,and puts forward measures to improve the accurate poverty alleviation assessment system for vocational education and strengthen the accurate of vocational education.

＂Reading and Writing Assessment＂： An Effective Model of the Student-based Education

Student-based education is a teaching method targeted in students＇ willingness to learn. Teachers must not only know how to change their teaching philosophy, more importantly, to explore the specific implementation methods in practice. ＂Reading and Writing Assessment＂ can effectively reflect this teaching philosophy. Students, in the whole learning process, through independent reading, writing, communication and evaluation, can achieve active learning and creative learning, It is proved that this is a good way of teaching.

Assessment in Architectural Design Education Case Study： First-Year Students at Pharos University

Effective assessment is inseparable from good teaching and learning. Just as a good tutor would practice different techniques of teaching, an assessor would usually use different strategies of assessment. Moreover, the different activities of assessment, such as teaching, are additionally executed at various times during the semester, thus, we can know in which way the student is learning. An assessment strategy lays out a well thoroughly considered choice of assessment methods that are aligned with the aims and learning outcomes. Because align the assessment with a specific kind of learning outcome, the tutor needs to choose a suitable technique of assessment. This paper draws upon a case study of the first year architectural design at Pharos University as another way to deal with realizing ＂how to design your assessment plan＂. Throughout the form of criteria based assessment, assessment can help to review the students and instructors feeling and reactions. Finally, we can learn to assist towards enhancing student learning through assessment. So, we can attract the consideration regarding the advantages of reviewing current assessment practices, and of accepting different ways to deal with assessment methods, in this manner profiting together student and tutor.

A Practical Study on Value-Added Assessment in Primary English Education

As a programmatic document to guide the reform of educational assessment,the“General Plan for Deepening the Reform of Educational Assessment in the New Era”clearly points out the requirement for exploring value-added assessment[1].In the process of exploring,Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System(TVAAS),which was implemented in Tennessee,United States in 1992,has a certain referential significance to the practice of assessment reform in primary English education[2].This study aims to build a value-added assessment model in line with China’s learning conditions by using big data and carry out pilot experiments in order to promote the development of educational assessment in primary schools.

The Management of Digital Transformation in Higher Education:An Assessment Proposal

The impacts of the current digital era are growing more and more on the way in which higher education(HE)offers learning programs at every level.Smart learning(SL)represents the evolution of educational approaches and techniques that capitalizes on all the opportunities deriving from new digital ecosystems.This study argues that the usefulness of HE can benefit from rethinking the traditional active learning(AL)model to smart ones.Thus,this research aims at investigating how to adapt the performance evaluation when the operations of HE turn to digitalized models.Therefore,this paper designs a research approach that allows accounting for the effects that the adoption of some SL strategies and tools has on the engagement of students and the aggregate performance of HE programs that adopt AL.The results of this study would help academics and HE managers assess the effectiveness of SL initiatives they plan to adopt.

Challenging the Implementation of Formative Assessment in Chinese Higher Education

Being increasingly implemented in China’s higher educational context,formative assessment becomes emphasized in many policy initiatives.Formative assessment in China educationally borrows many key principles from Western contexts which may cause the challenges in the implementation of formative assessment in Chinese higher education from three aspects:sociocultural context,teachers’knowledge,understanding and practices of formative assessment,and students’involvements.To meet these challenges,some possible suggestions are given which may help further study on this issue.

Assessment of Undergraduate Students in Use of Hypermedia Education on Peripheral Venous Punch

This is a qualitative study that aims to describe the opinion of nursing students on the use of an educational hypermedia on Peripheral Venipuncture. We interviewed 16 nursing students of a private university on second semester of 2014. The interviews allowed the identification of units of meaning and categorization by content analysis and led to four categories: influence of hypermedia on learning, educational technology as support to teaching classroom, contribution of hypermedia for professional practice and access difficulties. Hypermedia showed positive results as most scholars reported that the material helped in learning and generated autonomy and interactivity in the moment of studying. However some reported difficulties in access hypermedia related mainly to the server used. So hypermedia proved to be a valuable tool to use, since it favored the learning and aroused the interest and curiosity of students.

Assessment of colon polyp morphology: Is education effective?

AIM To determine the inter-observer variability for colon polyp morphology and to identify whether education can improve agreement among observers.METHODS For purposes of the tests, we recorded colonoscopy video clips that included scenes visualizing the polyps. A total of 15 endoscopists and 15 nurses participated in the study. Participants watched 60 video clips of the polyp morphology scenes and then estimated polyp morphology(pre-test). After education for 20 min, participants performed a second test in which the order of 60 video clips was changed(post-test). To determine if the effectiveness of education was sustained, four months later, a third, follow-up test was performed with the same participants.RESULTS The overall Fleiss' kappa value of the inter-observer agreement was 0.510 in the pre-test, 0.618 in the post-test, and 0.580 in the follow-up test. The overall diagnostic accuracy of the estimation for polyp morphology in the pre-, post-, and follow-up tests was 0.662, 0.797, and 0.761, respectively. After education, the inter-observer agreement and diagnostic accuracy of all participants improved. However, after four months, the inter-observer agreement and diagnostic accuracy of expert groups were markedly decreased, and those of beginner and nurse groups remained similar to pre-test levels. CONCLUSION The education program used in this study can improve inter-observer agreement and diagnostic accuracy in assessing the morphology of colon polyps; it is especially effective when first learning endoscopy.

Assessment of Educational Videos on the Prevention and Management of Infant Diarrhea:Documental Study

Objective: To evaluate the suitability of educational videos produced in Brazil that addressed aspects related to prevention and/or management of infant diarrhea according to content;language;graphic illustrations;stimulation for learning/motivation and cultural fit. Method: Documentary study, which evaluated six educational videos from an adapted and validated tool, the Suitability Assessment of Materials. Three nurses evaluated the videos. Data were processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 17.0, and presented in tables and graphics. Results: It was found that 4 (66.6%) of the educational videos were classified as appropriate, ranging from 60% to 63.3% of full approval, and 2 (33.3%) were assessed as higher, reaching up to 83.3% to 90% approval. Considering the socioeconomic and cultural contexts of the videos to the audience, they assigned notes ranging from 6 to 9 in a rating ranging from 0, the minimum score, to 10, the highest score. Conclusion: The educational videos were considered adequate, with positive results about the content on the prevention and management of infant diarrhea, being appropriate for the target audience. As a result, greater credibility is ratified as the use thereof, since these resources can contribute to health promotion and prevention of diarrhea in children.

Assessment of Gender Policy in Selected Tertiary Agricultural Education Institutions in Africa

The paper assesses the existing gender policy document in fourteen (14) selected agricultural faculties and colleges in tertiary institutions in Africa. This paper is an output of research report on Programme of Strengthening Africa’s Strategic Agricultural Capacity for Impact on Development (SASACID) implemented by the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE). Data for the study were collected from 207 respondents (8 deans of ANAFE SASACID pilot institutions, 36 academic staff/lecturers of SASACID pilot institutions and 163 students of SASACID pilot institutions) through the use of online survey. Data collected were analysed and presented using frequency, percentage and charts. Results of the survey revealed that 25.0% of the institutions studied indicated that they had a formal gender policy document in place in their institutions with regards to staff recruitment and students’ admission, while about 25.0% had an informal gender practices on staff recruitment and students’ admission. Higher proportion (60.0%) of the institution had neither a formal policy document nor informal practices as regards staff recruitment and students admission. Some of the constraints faced by the Institutions with a gender policy were insufficient female applicants in agricultural courses, societal norms and remote location of some of the faculties/colleges of agriculture. To encourage both males and females to study agriculture in higher institutions of learning and to create and sustain a fair and just academic environment where both have equal opportunities, there is a need to have a gender policy document and the need to create awareness.

Preventing Pregnant Women’s Exposure to Secondhand Smoke: Development and Suitability Assessment of an Educational Comic Booklet

Aim: The aim of this mixed methods research was to develop an educational comic booklet to prevent pregnant women’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Methods: We assessed the suitability of the comic booklet by measuring participant response to content, literacy demand, graphics, layout and typography, learning stimulation, motivation, and cultural appropriateness. The participants were 17 Indonesians living in Japan who were recruited through Respondent-Driven-Sampling and met all criteria for the survey. Means and standard deviations were used to determine the suitability of the educational comic. Results: About 80% of participants rated the comic as “superior” on a rating scale with options of “superior”, “adequate”, “not suitable”, or “not applicable”. The most successful aspects of the comic were content and cultural appropriateness, as it provided clear contents and the graphics showed realistic Indonesian smoking behavior. The least successful aspect of the comic was the literacy demand because there were long sentences using difficult words. Conclusions: The results of this study may be used to conduct a randomized controlled trial using this comic booklet with some modifications.

A QoE Assessment System in Distance Education

It is a challenging task to improve the real-time property and objectivity of the effect assessment for the distance education. This paper presents a QoE (Quality of Experience) assessment system based on the attention of online user. The system captures the video frames from two cameras periodically and synchronously, using the adaptive image binarization based on the linear average threshold for the pretreatment, then processing with edge detection and filtering in the cross-directions at the same time. System gets the position of computer screen and user eyeball. Analyzing the detection results comprehensively obtains the attention of online user by some judging conditions, and finally acquires the quality of user experience. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency.