Getting the right blend for health literacy across the Faculty

Title

Getting the right blend for health literacy across the Faculty

Author(s)

Dr Shandell Elmer, Dr Winifred van der Ploeg, Dr Kathryn Ogden, Ms Ellen Ennever, Ms Sandra Murray, Ms Eve De Silva, Dr Michelle Williams, Dr Merilyn Cross, Dr Bethany Wootton, Dr Mandy Matthewson

Presentation Goals

To examine the utility of crosscutting competencies as a process for informing curriculum development.

Subtheme

Course Blends

Presentation Type

Flipped

Keywords

curriculum, core skills, cross discipline resources, staff development

Room

Social Sciences 213

Time

14.05-15.05

Abstract

In response to the growing national and international recognition of the importance of health literacy, staff from across the Faculty have been working together to develop strategies to incorporate health literacy training as a core curriculum skill. Building on our experiences as a Peer Learning Circle, we have mapped health literacy competencies against our discipline areas (nursing, pharmacy, medicine and psychology). As opposed to discipline specific competencies, these competencies do not pertain to a particular course or unit, rather they are competencies that are common to or 'cut across' all of the disciplines, resulting in health literacy responsive graduates.  

From this process we have identified health literacy competencies that are common to our disciplines, those that appear more frequently and those that are less common. By 'crosscutting' competencies we have been able to identify the foci for learning and teaching resources. The health literacy competencies can form the basis for standardised training and unify the disciplines. A survey based on health literacy competencies was administered to academic staff across the Faculty to gauge where health literacy skills, knowledge, attitudes and  practice currently appear within the curriculum. The results have informed the development of strategies to incorporate health literacy into curricula.

We facilitated workshops for academic staff which provided an opportunity for the participants to learn about health literacy through their participation in learning and teaching activities developed in response to identified needs. In this way, the academics both learnt about health literacy, as well as trialled the resources. This immersive activity took an action learning approach by inviting the participants to experience the activity as a learner, rather than just providing an overview of the activity.

Health literacy is essentially about effective communication, therefore, the learning and teaching associated with this topic is well-suited to a blended learning approach whereby a wide range media is used to explore and provoke learning in this interactive, interpersonal space.

Question:

How could a crosscutting approach help to bring together otherwise disparate undergraduate  courses to identify core skills, knowledge and practices in order to inform curriculum development?