Evaluating a course in family and community health care

Described in this paper is an evaluation of the impact of a course in family and community health care on health associate students in the Johns Hopkins University. A simple before-after design was used. Students were observed interviewing an actor (simulated patient) and rated on their ability to obtain information about the "patient's" family situation. Results showed a significant increase in family orientation from pretest to posttest. The positive changes seemed to occur in the areas of family structure and family events, with no significant change being observed in the area of family dynamics. The investigator concluded that a clinical course can increase the family orientation of health associate students as evidenced in their clinical (history-taking) behavior.