Tackling Health Inequities: A Unique, Asynchronous Course Designed Through Peer-to-Peer Methods

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Health Equity

Background:

• Growing awareness of social inequities necessitates addressing systemic healthcare issues in prehealth and medical education.
• The
• Social Determinants, Disparities, and Preparing for the Future of Healthcare
• (SDDH) course was developed to educate students on these critical topics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of an asynchronous, peer-to-peer health disparities enrichment course.
• To assess the impact on postbaccalaureate prehealth students' knowledge, behaviors, and course reactions.

Main Methods:

• A 5-hour, 10-module online course, SDDH, was designed by prehealth students for their peers.
• The Kirkpatrick Model and qualitative/quantitative analyses were used to assess curriculum effectiveness.
• The study assessed reactions, learning, and self-reported behavior changes.

Main Results:

• A 28% completion rate was observed among invited students.
• Students showed significant increases in knowledge assessment scores (P=.0002) and positive course reactions.
• Self-reported behavioral changes were sustained 3 months post-completion.

Conclusions:

• Educating prehealth students on health disparities and cultural competence is crucial for developing empathetic, patient-centered professionals.
• The SDDH course can enhance communication skills for advocacy and foster an earlier development of patient-centered approaches.
• Course length, lack of credit, and voluntary enrollment were identified as barriers to completion.