Azim Mirzazadeh; Amirhosein Jahanshir; Sepand Riazi
Abstract
Background and Objectives The development of a course plan is an essential activity before presenting each course, which enables effective education by mapping the road ahead. For this reason, the study of the status of course plans at universities is of particular importance, such that access to the ...
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Background and Objectives The development of a course plan is an essential activity before presenting each course, which enables effective education by mapping the road ahead. For this reason, the study of the status of course plans at universities is of particular importance, such that access to the documentations in this regard can lead to the discovery of the uncertainties of the status quo. Methods This was a survey study performed in two stages. In the first stage, data about the current status of course plans was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire. Then, quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS software. Secondly, the content of the course plans was examined. The data was collected using a researcher-made checklist based on review of the related texts. Results In total, 99 (92.52%) of the 107 academic departments completed the questionnaire. Of the 6926 responded units, 2251 units (32.5%) had a course plan. Of the 173 disciplines, 15 (8.7%) had provided a course plan on the faculty website. Of the 99 departments, 39 (39.4%) had a defined plan for course design and 34 (34.3%) departments had a monitoring committee. Qualitative analysis of course plans showed that 45.3% had an acceptable status, 6.2% were somewhat acceptable, 10.4% were incomplete and 38.1% were unacceptable. The general characteristics of the course (96.1%), the general description of the course (45.6%), the general objectives (87.0%), the specific goals (63.2%), and the introduction of resources (45.9%) had a “complete” and “fairly complete” status respectively and had the highest scores in course design. Also, students’ role and tasks components-role dimensions (66.4%), student’s assessment at the end of the course- summative evaluation (56.0%) and course timetable (51.8%) respectively, had the “incomplete” and “non-observance” status more than other components, and did not have a proper situation in course design. Conclusions The results of this study lead to the recognition of the current status of course plan in Tehran University of Medical Sciences and can be considered in future decisions.
Seyed-Arash Tehrani Banihashemi; Ali Akbar Haghdoost; Mohammed Amir Amirkhani; Ali Akbar Haghdoost; Seyed-Moayed Alavian; Homa Asgharifard; Hamid Baradaran; Mozhgan Barghamdi; Saeid Parsinia; Sahar Fathi Ranjbar
Volume 4, Issue 1 , July 2007, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
Background & Objective: Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain process and understand basic health information and services required for making appropriate health decisions The aim of this study was to estimate the level of health literacy and to ...
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Background & Objective: Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain process and understand basic health information and services required for making appropriate health decisions The aim of this study was to estimate the level of health literacy and to determine the factors influencing it using valid instrument Methods: In a Populationbased household survey in 5 cities and 5 villages of Boushehr Mazandaran Kermanshah Ghazvin and Tehran provinces 1086 adults aged 18 and older were enrolled into the study Health literacy was measured by the questionnaire designed for test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) after validation Regression analysis was used to determine the association of demographic factors and level of health literacy Results: The average response rate was 708% in the studied clusters From all participants 614% were female and the rest were male Mean age of participants was 381 years Seventeen percent of the study population was illiterate and 36% had diploma or higher education The level of health literacy was adequate in 281% borderline in 15 3% and inadequate in 565% of the subjects Mean score of health literacy was 453 in males and 411 in females (P=0057) However after adjustment for educational level in the regression model health literacy was found to be higher in females (P=014) Limited health literacy was also associated with lower economic status (P=0004) Conclusion: This study indicates that the level of health literacy is low in Iran Educational level was the most important determinant of health literacy and the most increase was seen in subjects with more than 8 years education Lower health literacy in women older people and rural inhabitants was mainly due to lower educational levels in these groups