| dc.description.abstract | Health professionals worldwide are currently inadequately trained to address the health
issues of communities, particularly in developing countries where there are major health
disparities. This study argues for an alternative and more appropriate education, one
which would better prepare future health professionals to address these needs.
The study draws attention to how the University of the Western Cape (UWC) responded
to preparing its health professional graduates to better meet the needs of South African
society. The thesis explores the rationale for a shift in health professions education to
one which supports service-learning, locating the study within the broader
developments in higher education within South Africa.
The specific aim of this thesis was to evaluate a community-based interdisciplinary
health promotion course offered to the undergraduate health sciences students from the
faculties of Community and Health Sciences and Dentistry at the University of the
Western Cape (UWC). It focused on evaluating the perceived effectiveness and the
impact on the stakeholders of the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course, with the
aim of developing an appropriate framework to guide the teaching of health promotion
at higher education institutions in South Africa.
Ten primary schools in three disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape were
used as the health promotion settings for the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course.
The study design was a program evaluation that used the explanatory sequential
mixed-methods design. An evaluation matrix was developed, consisting of three core
concepts (curriculum, community-based learning, and university-school collaboration)
against which the course was evaluated. Indicators and criteria were developed for
each core concept. Questionnaires were distributed to all the stakeholders, that is, the
university students, the lecturers, the supervisors, and the school educators, involved in
the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion Course during 2006. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders were also conducted at the UWC campus and in the Delft
community. There was a good response from all the stakeholders who participated in
the study (students (72.4%), lecturers (85%), supervisors (100%), and school educators
(71.5%)).
A main finding of the study was that the Interdisciplinary Health Promotion course was
relevant and up-to-date with developments in the field of health promotion. Course
topics were dealt with in sufficient depth and the assignments were clear, specific, and
related to the course outcomes. The interdisciplinary teaching and learning approach
allowed the university students to learn and develop a better understanding of the roles
and contributions that the various professions played in health promotion in a
community.
The course was perceived as having been of value to all the stakeholders and having a
positive impact on the schools. The findings revealed that the health promotion projects
implemented in the schools helped the university students to learn how to plan,
implement and evaluate a project in a community setting. Furthermore, the findings
suggest that the schools offered an ideal placement for university students to learn
about health promotion and its application.
In addressing a concern about the course not making any meaningful long-term impact
on the schools and the surrounding communities, the study showed that it is important
to revisit the current teaching and learning approach of the Interdisciplinary Health
Promotion course. It revealed that service-learning as an alternative to the field
education approach would facilitate a closer relationship between theoretical and
practical knowledge, where the practical application was translated into a service that
met the needs of a community.
The study further revealed that the collaboration model between the university and the
school also needed to be reconceptualized, to include all the stakeholders as well as
their needs concerning health promotion in the schools. It was recommended that the Health Promoting School framework should be seen as the overarching framework for
the sustainability of school-based health promotion. In conclusion, this study showed that the recognition and establishment of university-community
partnerships and reliance upon them in the educational process would
provide many new opportunities for relevant and meaningful health professional
education and training. These efforts would contribute to improving the quality of higher
education delivered to students, thereby ensuring their competency to better meet the
needs of the communities they will serve. | en_US |
