Assessing the Learning Needs of Maternal and Child Health Professionals to Teach Health Promotion

OBJECTIVE: To assess skills and preferred learning formats in teaching health promotion (HP). METHODS: A self-administered needs assessment of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) educators from multiple disciplines was conducted on a convenience sample taken nationally via e-mail using Dillman's method. Respondents rated ability to use, and desire to improve skills in, different teaching strategies (brainstorming, case method, collaborative learning, mini-presentation, reflective exercise, role play) and health concepts (partnership, communication, HP/illness prevention, time management, education, advocacy). Preferred learning formats were assessed with 5-point Likert scale and were analyzed using ANOVA. RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of respondents (n = 180) taught in an urban setting, 26% suburban, and 17% rural. Most taught at academic health centers (35%), public health clinics (25%), or hospitals (17%). Seventy-five percent were female; average age was 42 years (SD--9.1 years). Specific disciplines showed no major difference in mean responses compared with others. The greatest barriers to integrating HP into teaching were time (82%) and budget (58%). Although a majority of all respondents felt comfortable in their abilities to use the teaching strategies and concepts, an equal percentage still wanted to improve these skills. One-third of respondents had experience using web-based study: 64% of them indicated web-based study as their preferred method of continuing education. CONCLUSIONS: While a majority of MCH educators felt confident using various teaching strategies to teach the integration of HP into practice, most still wished to improve their personal skills. Use of an inexpensive, time-efficient modality to access and learn to teach HP was appealing to respondents across disciplines.