Evaluation of a Geriatrics Course Emphasizing Interdisciplinary Issues for Chiropractic Students

Abstract

In 1998, the Iowa Geriatric Education Center (IGEC) was funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions. The role of the chiropractic institution participating as a partner in the IGEC was to develop and evaluate a model geriatrics course for chiropractic students emphasizing experiential learning and interdisciplinary issues. The evaluation assessed changes in the students' knowledge of geriatrics and their attitudes toward older adults and toward interdisciplinary issues. There were 197 students in the class. The alternate course was offered to 20 volunteers for the pilot test. Score changes from baseline to post-intervention were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. Instruments were Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ), Aging Semantics Differential (ASD), and Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). Median scores improved by 12 percentage points on FAQ (p = 0.002), 18 points on the ASD (p = 0.007), and decreased by 15 points on the IEPS (p = 0.064). Integration of the course into the curriculum is being planned, and the evaluation scheme appears appropriate for other health professions, such as nursing, to use for evaluating interdisciplinary geriatrics courses for their students.

Professional Socialization and Attitudes Towards Interprofessional Collaboration Among Graduate Social Work and Health Professions Students

“…On the Competency and Autonomy subscale, medical and pharmacy students rated themselves higher than social work students on items reflecting perceptions of their own competency. The finding that students from some fields of study exhibited more positive attitudes and perceptions than others is consistent with prior research (Curran et al, 2008;Hawk, Byrd, & Killinger, 2001). These results also add to the understanding of differences among professions because most prior studies focused on or included undergraduate students as participants or lacked the necessary statistical power to detect differences between multiple health professions.…”

Research in Chiropractic Education: An Update

“…A number of articles and ACC conference presentations have reported not only on the evaluations of complete curricula 17-20 but also on those of specific courses or components of courses. 13,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] The measurement of the educational climate is another method of curriculum evaluation. According to Genn, 29 any curriculum generates and establishes environments and thus changes in curricula are essentially changes in environments.…”

Familiarity With and Advocacy of Healthy People 2010 Goals by Mississippi Chiropractic Association Members

“…Students, faculty, and staff at 1 chiropractic college campus (92% response) strongly support the notion that chiropractors have a responsibility to role model healthy behaviors and to educate their patients regarding healthy behaviors. 11 Other research efforts include guidelines and improvements in geriatrics, 12,13 pediatrics, 14 wellness concepts, 15 community health, 16 public health education, 17 preventive health services counseling at chiropractic colleges, 14 community-based health promotion, 18 injury prevention, 19 and use of Network Spinal Analysis for improving health behaviors. 20 A nutrition and youth soccer intervention was a recent example of chiropractic practicebased community-wide health promotion in Mississippi.…”