Masters Degrees (Office of the Dean: Health Sciences)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Office of the Dean: Health Sciences) by Advisor "Joubert, G."
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Item Open Access Community-based education (CBE) - the MED 113 Expo as case study(University of the Free State, 2004-11) Prinsloo, Engela Adriana Margrietha; Joubert, G.; Du Toit, G. F.English: Background: Societal complaints that health professionals do not address their needs, the ratio of specialist to primary health care professionals and that human resources in health services are concentrated in the private sector, urged new methods of teaching and learning to be explored. Community-based Education (CBE) is one of the educational approaches that could address these concerns. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine if community-based activities could help students to integrate theory and practice, and influence attitude and behaviour towards the community. In addition it aimed to determine if community exposure motivated students and stimulated their enthusiasm towards CBE. These aims were achieved by determining student opinion on the learning process, experience and assessment as well as determining whether the community and services benefited in any way. The final aim was to refine the community-based education model in module MED113 to serve as future reference for development of CBE approach in other modules. Method: It was a quantitative study including a literature study and the completion of questionnaires by first year medical students, learners, community health care workers and representatives of institutions participating in CBE activities. Results: The results yielded a 75.7% positive response with regards the integration of theory and practice and a 77.9% positive response regarding change in attitudes towards the community. 93.6% of respondents' enthusiasm towards CBE activities improved. 94.3% and 54.1 % of respondents were positive regarding the experience and method of assessment respectively. There was a 100% positive response by learners, community health workers and representatives of institutions with regards the learning experience and value for the institutions respectively. Conclusion: Recommendations regarding changes to the CBE activities of MED 113 were made to use it as model in other CBE modules.Item Open Access The impact of an interactive education strategy in radiography education(University of the Free State, 2003-11) Brussow, S. M.; Nel, M. M.; Joubert, G.English: Increased access to higher education to address equity is a major objective of The National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE) in South Africa. This increased access necessitated more flexible entry requirements to admit previously disadvantaged learners. These learners are, however, inadequately prepared for higher education. Higher education institutions should take this into account in teaching and learning. The rationale for this study was to address the access-success imbalance in higher education mentioned by South Africa's Minister of Education. This research study was thus undertaken to evaluate the impact of an interactive educational strategy in radiography education.The research took the form of an exploratory, descriptive and quantitative experimental study comprising of a literature review and an experimental investigation. The literature review covered mainly two aspects: The first aspect consisted of factors associated with academic achievement, namely cognitive ability, self-regulation, self-efficacy, motivation, approaches to learning, effective study skills, and learning styles. In the second place, educational strategies were reviewed in the literature, while interactive education was seen as an opportunity to foster the factors associated with effective learning. Effective learning entails encouraging self-regulation, nurturing self-efficacy, raising motivation, promoting a deep approach to learning, teaching and assessing study skills, and accommodating differences in learning styles when teaching. Since the key to effective learning is rooted in the engagement of learners in active and collaborative learning experiences, this productive interaction between learners and facilitators - which enhances educational events and promotes learning - was therefore explored. The overall goal of the study was to make a contribution towards optimising the effectiveness of education and training in the radiography programme in the School of Health Technology at the Technikon Free State. The aim was to explore the impact of an interactive education strategy in radiography education on 30 second-year learners enrolled for the modules Radiographic Practice and Clinical Radiographic Practice II (RAD 20 at and KLD 20 at) in 2002, gauged by summative assessment and learner perception. The empirical study involved a Learning Preference Inventory (LPI) which provided details on learners' learning preferences. The outcome of the LPI directed the design of the Structured Interactive Sessions (SIS), the intervention in which an attempt was made to address the learners' learning preferences. The learners were divided into three study groups, namely a formal lecture group, a self-activities group, and a self-study group. A pre-post test model was used to quantitatively evaluate the improvement in academic performance after the SIS intervention and subsequently a questionnaire survey was carried out to assess learners' perception(s) of the effectiveness of the interactive and self-directed approach to education in radiography. The results of the three measures, i.e. the LPI, the questionnaire, and the pre-post test model used in the study, shared a prevalent important component, namely the significant role of the facilitator. The LPI results demonstrated dominance in prevalence for a teacher-structured learning environment. The aforementioned fact is confirmed by the distribution of test scores in the pre-test indicating that the groups with no facilitator guidance had lower test marks than the group who received formal lectures. The learners' perception and experiences verified a preference for facilitator-guided activities in class. The researcher realises the limitations of the study, namely that the study is restricted to performance after a single intervention in a controlled test situation, while learners from one programme were used and the contribution of only interactive education on learning, rather than combinations of factors, was quantitatively explored. It is therefore recommended that both quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as a larger and more diverse study group, would provide a more widely applicable measurement for academic improvement after an interactive intervention. The findings of the present study suggest a possible link between interactive educational strategies and academic achievement. The findings also support the literature on academic performance in which motivation through interaction between the facilitator and the learners plays an important role.Item Open Access Simulation as educational strategy: an interprofessional approach at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State(University of the Free State, 2016-01) Van Wyk, Riaan; Labuschagne, M. J.; Joubert, G.English: With an ever-evolving and complex patient population, healthcare professionals need to adapt to these changes. A response to this challenge is to deliver patient care and management as an interprofessional healthcare team or collaborative practice. In order to deliver professionals that are ready for collaborative practice, education institutions need to enhance interprofessional education (IPE) amongst its students. Various strategies can be followed for effective IPE. These are didactic lessons, simulated experiences and community based education. The question arises as to the extent and techniques currently used by the Faculty of Health Sciences, UFS, to achieve IPE amongst its undergraduate students. Specific focus was given to addressing IPE utilising simulation. A quantitative descriptive study was performed and data was collected using structured interviews with 47 of 57 (82.5%) undergraduate module leaders of the Faculty of Health Sciences, UFS, covering 66 of 80 (82.5%) undergraduate modules. The research topics covered by the interview were interprofessional education, the use of and opinions on simulation and the possibility of utilising simulation to address IPE. The results were analysed and reported quantitatively. It was found that 36 out of 66 modules (56.1%) had no form of interprofessional education. In cases where interprofessional education was present, it was mostly addressed coincidentally (58.7%) and was not part of the formal outcomes of the module. The main platform utilised for interprofessional education is ward rounds in hospital and clinic visits during community based education. Simulation is used by 36 out of 66 (54.5%) modules and the most common type utilised is low-fidelity skills training. The module leaders’ opinions on simulation are positive, highlighting the advantages it holds for improved student learning. Some concerns were raised on the logistical challenges simulation could pose. The majority of module leaders (66.7%) indicated that simulation would not be a viable training tool to address interprofessional education in their module. The most common (84.1%) reason given was that there were no interprofessional activities in the relevant module to address. However, 21.7% did not see any disadvantages of its potential use to address interprofessional education where needed. Some challenges were highlighted and the biggest potential advantage mentioned (41.3%) was improved role clarification amongst the students. The conclusion was that although IPE does take place, it is mostly coincidental and not formalised in the modules. The majority of module leaders were positive about the possible use of simulation to address IPE, but various challenges and concerns were also reported and discussed. When using simulation to address interprofessional education, it is important to engage the students from all professions. In most cases the scenarios would be role-play using standardised (simulated) patients. These actors must be properly trained to ensure the authenticity of the scenario. The principles of interprofessional education (aspects such as collaboration, communication and professionalism) should be addressed in the outcomes and must be the focus during the debriefing phase of the simulation experience. Facilitators must be trained and competent in debriefing and reflection techniques.Item Open Access A student review of doctor-patient communication skills training in the UFS undergraduate medical programme(University of the Free State, 2020-01) Swinfen, Dirkie; Labuschagne, M. J.; Joubert, G.