Beginning Early: Reflective Practice Development in a Pre-health Course on Health Literacy and Health Disparities

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Medical Education
• Health Literacy Research

Background:

• Early integration of reflective practices is crucial for health professions trainees.
• Understanding health literacy and health disparities requires foundational training.
• Assessing learner progression in reflective practice is key for development.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of reflection categorization for assessing reflective practice development.
• Assess student reflection as a strategy to introduce and advance understanding of health literacy and health disparities.
• Promote reflective practice development through structured feedback.

Main Methods:

• An online undergraduate health literacy course utilized two written reflection assignments.
• Kember's four categories (habitual action, understanding, reflection, critical reflection) were used for coding reflections.
• Students received feedback based on reflection categorization to guide development.

Main Results:

• Most students (78%) were at the 'understanding' level in the first reflection.
• In the second reflection, 29% reached the 'reflection' level, applying health literacy concepts.
• A significant portion (33%) of students demonstrated progression in their reflection levels.

Conclusions:

• Structured reflection activities facilitate the development of reflective practices in pre-health students.
• Reflection enables students to articulate and apply knowledge of health literacy and health disparities.
• This approach supports early engagement with complex health concepts in training.