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Full-Text Articles in Public Health Education and Promotion

The Value In Verifying Medical Folklore, Dennis J. Baumgardner Jan 2018

The Value In Verifying Medical Folklore, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Dennis J. Baumgardner, MD

Citing a related article published within this issue of the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews, the author opines on why traditional ideas regarding human health can persist over decades, and even centuries, despite a lack of scientifically accumulated evidence. It is important to keep in mind that some commonly accepted truths are supported by little to no factual data, and that occasionally patients may benefit from clarification on what is (or, often, is not) actually known about longstanding “rules of thumb” (eg, certain home remedies, disease-prevention measures or behavioral concerns). On the flip side, traditions that are shown to …


The Value In Verifying Medical Folklore, Dennis J. Baumgardner Aug 2017

The Value In Verifying Medical Folklore, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Citing a related article published within this issue of the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews, the author opines on why traditional ideas regarding human health can persist over decades, and even centuries, despite a lack of scientifically accumulated evidence. It is important to keep in mind that some commonly accepted truths are supported by little to no factual data, and that occasionally patients may benefit from clarification on what is (or, often, is not) actually known about longstanding “rules of thumb” (eg, certain home remedies, disease-prevention measures or behavioral concerns). On the flip side, traditions that are shown …


Understanding Views Of Evidence In Public Health Practice And Decision Making In Ontario, Sara Masood Aug 2016

Understanding Views Of Evidence In Public Health Practice And Decision Making In Ontario, Sara Masood

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Perceptions of evidence by public health managers, practitioners and policy makers is one of the key determinants of evidence uptake. Therefore, understanding views of evidence in both practice and policy decision making is important to bridge the evidence-practice and policy gap in public health. Objectives & Methods: Two studies are presented in this thesis. The first is a systematic review synthesizing studies exploring the use of research evidence in public health decision making between 2010-2016. The second study is a qualitative descriptive study examining understandings about evidence in Ontario public health units by comparing perspectives from managers and frontline …


Evidence-Informed Advocacy: Non-Profit Organizations Use Of Evidence For Policy Influence In Public Health - A Case Study Of Wash Org Uganda, Carolyne Esther Nabalema Apr 2015

Evidence-Informed Advocacy: Non-Profit Organizations Use Of Evidence For Policy Influence In Public Health - A Case Study Of Wash Org Uganda, Carolyne Esther Nabalema

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in lobbying governments for policy changes besides engaging in direct service delivery. Improved utilization of research and other evidence in health policy and practice will help save lives and improve quality of life. This case study of WashOrg International in East Africa was informed by two major questions 1) how is evidence on water, sanitation and hygiene being used by non-profit organizations to shape policy advocacy activities 2) what kinds of internal capacity exist in WashOrg International to use water, sanitation and hygiene evidence to inform policy advocacy? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, …


Developing A Measure Of Scientific Literacy For Middle School Students, Helenrose Fives, Mark Nicolich, Amanda Birnbaum, Wendy Huber Jul 2014

Developing A Measure Of Scientific Literacy For Middle School Students, Helenrose Fives, Mark Nicolich, Amanda Birnbaum, Wendy Huber

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Scientific literacy reflects “a broad and functional understanding of science for general education purposes” (DeBoer, 2000, p. 594). Herein, we present the ongoing development of the Scientific Literacy Assessment (SLA), a work‐in‐progress measure to assess middle school students' (ages 11–14) scientific literacy. The SLA includes a selected response measure of students’ demonstrated scientific literacy (SLA‐D) and a motivation and beliefs scale based on existing measures of self‐efficacy, subjective task value, and personal epistemology for science (SLA‐MB). Our theoretical conceptualization of scientific literacy guided the development of our measure. We provide details from three studies: Pilot Study 1 (n = …