Enhancing Teacher Health Literacy Through Evidence-Based Learning

Presenters: Fred L. Peterson, Tammy J. Jordan, and Erin Floyd-Bann, The University of Texas at Austin; J. Terry Parker, Waxahachie Independent School District, TX

This session is presented in separate parts. Use the buttons at the end of the transcription to navigate between each part.

II. Tammy Jordan

TAMMY JORDAN: Thank you. What we want to talk about now is moving from a traditional model to an evidence-based vision for teacher professional preparation in an attempt to enhance teacher health literacy, moving research to the body of information to practice in health education promotion.

Evidence-based child and adolescent health is the delivery of health education and health promotion to children and adolescents that is derived from scientific evidence, such as research, theory and evaluation. This evidence has undergone peer review and is published in scientific journals or documents approved by accredited scientific organizations.

There are a variety of levels of evidence as one views these various evidence-based models. Such levels of evidence, such as anecdotal, those recognized concepts or ideas, newspaper articles, et cetera, are not what one would consider evidence-based. So, as a health promoter or educator, one should look toward more evidence-based models such as single preimposed test evaluation, controlled study in peer review journals, expert consensus in peer review journals, or multiple replicated studies in peer review journals.

As you can see, as you move from the left to the right of the continuum, the evidence becomes more rigid and more scientifically based. Some examples of some evidence-based documents might include peer review journal articles, as stated previously, CDC guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One example would be the MMWR, which is the "Morbidity, Mortality Weekly Report". The Surgeon General's reports, which Terry will speak of further in the section. The NIH consensus statements. Various published technical reports from academic centers. And published reports from credible professional agencies like the American Cancer Society.

What you see on the screen now is the child and adolescent health logic framework. This is a framework for promoting evidence-based learning and pre-service education that we use at the University of Texas in Austin. As you can see, what this framework does, it's a graphical strategy for linking research to practice. On the left-hand side of the slide you will see various forms of research, from basic research, applied research and theory, which lead to the child and adolescent health information concepts that we teach. That in turn leads to various youth health promotion components, such as health pedagogy, health education, health advocacy, public policy, and medical care. And that leads and follows through back to research. So it has a very cyclical effect.

For various definitions of each component you can turn to page 4 in your handout, and it will give a detailed description and generic description of each of the components, the biobehavioral, health science basic research theory, applied research and evaluation — the body of information that we will talk about today is sexuality education — health pedagogy, health education, health advocacy, public policy, and medical care.

As we take the application of the framework and follow it through with sexuality education, we will begin looking at some basic biobehavioral health science research examples. An example might include the Youth Risk Behavior Survey discussed earlier in the presentation; the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health would be a second example. That in turn is influenced by various theories related to child and adolescent health information. Again, we have discussed this the sensation seeking theory today, the causal model of adolescent risk-taking behavior, and various others.

This in turn is led by applied research and evaluation. An example might include the integration of survey research into SIECUS guidelines for comprehensive sexuality education. And the SIECUS guidelines, we have given you in your packet, the Sexuality Information Education Council of the United States. An additional example might be a pre-posed test measure conducted on programs such as Reducing the Risk, which Dr. Parker will talk about.

From this we gather the body of information on sexuality education. And some basic concepts regarding sexuality in adolescents might include that young people develop their values about sexuality as a part of becoming adults. In addition, sexuality includes physical, ethical, social, spiritual, psychological, as well as emotional dimensions. From this body of research and information we move toward the professional practice side. This might include health pedagogy, which is the art and science of teaching. Examples of health pedagogy related to sexuality education could include condom skill education sessions and sexual situation role-play.

From health pedagogy we are led to health education. Some examples would be the implementation of SIECUS comprehensive sexuality education into the curriculum. Some various programs might include Reducing the Risk or Safer Choices, which will be described in detail later in the presentation.

Health advocacy, which is very important for all health promoters. One example might be lobbying for comprehensive sexuality education into public schools at your State board of education meeting. Similarly, giving testimony at a school board meeting for the adoption of evidence-based sexuality programs such as Reducing the Risk, Safer Choices and a variety of others.

Public policy is also an essential component. Laws established to provide comprehensive sexuality education in schools here in Texas, we have currently up for adoption the Texas Senate bill 19, which is related to sexuality education. Additional laws might include allowing condom distribution to be provided in high schools.

And lastly, medical care is an essential component to promoting evidence-based education. Some examples of medical care would include obviously treatment of sexually transmitted infections to adolescents as well as school-based health centers, which we have one near us here in San Antonio, in Hays County, at Hays Consolidated ISD.

These four components, with the subcomponent of health pedagogy, all encompass youth health promotion, which in turn lead back to the research. And this is what we call our child and adolescent health logic framework. If we were to take that on and started looking at health adolescent risk-taking behavior from those components, Dr. Terry Parker would like to take that and explain it in a little more detail to you and some actual statistics related to sexuality education.

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