Frontiers in public health
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Front Public Health · Jan 2015
The effect of using different competence frameworks to audit the content of a masters program in public health.
(1) To quantify the effect of using different public health competence frameworks to audit the curriculum of an online distance learning MPH program, and (2) to measure variation in the outcomes of the audit depending on which competence framework is used. ⋯ Using different competence frameworks to audit the curriculum of an MPH program can give different indications of its quality, especially as it fails to capture teaching considered to be relevant, yet not included in an existing competence framework. The strengths and weaknesses of using competence frameworks to audit the content of an MPH program have largely been ignored. These debates are vital given that external organizations responsible for accreditation specify a particular competence framework to be used. Our study found that each of four different competence frameworks suggested different levels of quality in our teaching program, at least in terms of the competences included in the curriculum. Relying on just one established framework missed some aspects of the curriculum included in other frameworks used in this study. Conversely, each framework included items not covered by the others. Thus, levels of agreement with the content of our MPH and established areas of competence were, in part, dependent on the competence framework used to compare its' content. While not entirely a surprising finding, this study makes an important point and makes explicit the challenges of selecting an appropriate competence framework to inform MPH programs, and especially one which recruits students from around the world.
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Front Public Health · Jan 2015
Health care providers and human trafficking: what do they know, what do they need to know? Findings from the middle East, the Caribbean, and central america.
Human trafficking is a crime that commonly results in acute and chronic physical and psychological harm. To foster more informed health sector responses to human trafficking, training sessions for health care providers were developed and pilot-tested in the Middle East, Central America, and the Caribbean. This study presents the results of an investigation into what health care providers knew and needed to know about human trafficking as part of that training program. ⋯ Training health care providers on caring for trafficked persons has the potential to improve practitioners' knowledge about human trafficking and its health consequences, and to increase safe practices when responding in cases of trafficking. This study provides lessons for the design of training programs on human trafficking that aim to help health care providers identify and refer victims, and provide care for survivors.
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Front Public Health · Jan 2015
Frequency of Victimization Experiences and Well-Being Among Online, Offline, and Combined Victims on Social Online Network Sites of German Children and Adolescents.
Victimization is associated with negative developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. However, previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the association between offline and online victimization and indicators of social, psychological, and somatic well-being. In this study, we investigated 1,890 German children and adolescents (grades 5-10, mean age = 13.9; SD = 2.1) with and without offline or online victimization experiences who participated in a social online network (SNS). ⋯ The type of victimization (offline, online, combined) was associated with increased reports of psychological and somatic symptoms, lower self-esteem and esteem by others, and lower resistance to peer influences. The effects were comparable for the groups with offline and online victimization. They were, however, increased in the combined group in comparison to victims with offline experiences alone.