Introducing Communication Skills to Reduce Disparities in Dietetics Training
Academic Year:
2013 - 2014 (June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014)
Funding Requested:
$9,631.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
Overview of the Project:
There are marked racial and ethnic disparities in disease burden and in health care quality. Low health literacy, which disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority populations, contributes to health disparities. Accordingly, integration of health literacy and cultural competency is recommended in health professional training. In recognizing the importance of providing care to diverse patient and community populations, the course content of EHS 646 (Approaches in Nutrition Counseling) will be updated to include an interactive curriculum designed to improve communication, enhance cultural competency, and reduce health disparities. The Human Nutrition Program offers a graduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) with an affiliated Dietetic Internship. This continuity in students between the DPD and the Dietetic Internship provides a unique opportunity to determine whether the students are graduating from the DPD with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the Dietetic Internship. We plan to conduct an annual assessment of the DPD curriculum by developing a survey, with input from all Human Nutrition faculty, to be completed by DPD graduates upon completion of the Dietetic Internship. Items corresponding to all required course with be included to ensure widespread utility of the survey, however, specific assessment items related to working with individuals from other cultures and backgrounds in a clinical setting will be included on the survey to evaluate the curriculum changes made to EHS 646. Support from the Gilbert Whitaker Fund will be used to develop the survey, analyze survey results, and to write-up findings for dissemination.