The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #62178

Jena Nicols Curtis, MA, Health and Behavioral Sciences, Teachers College Columbia University, 509 W. 121st Street Apt 708, New York, NY 10027, 212 678 3492, jnc46@columbia.edu and Robert Fullilove, EdD, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Columbia University, 513 W. 166th Street, Room 325, New York, NY 10027.

Title: AIDS education online: Creating scaleable provider training Authors: Jena Curtis and Robert E. Fullilove

Issues: Continuing professional development for HIV/AIDS educators and providers is made both difficult and costly by the geographic divide that exists between providers and classroom or conference based educational resources.

Setting: The Distance Learning Project, Teachers College Columbia University

Project: AIDS Education Online is a semester-long distance learning course that utilizes asynchronous communications and Internet resources to reach educators, counselors, social or public health workers from around the nation with the latest program development, planning information, and research findings.

Results: Online discussion of the materials creates a rich and reflective dialogue between students and facilitators. The separation in time and space inherent in online education allows participants opportunity to deliberate over complex issues and voice dissenting opinions. As a result, participants are better able to incorporate and share their own experiences and difficulties in the ongoing dialogue. Providers are able to engage in collaborative learning and problem solving with others who face similar economic, geographic, or institutional barriers.

Lessons Learned: AIDS Education Online is an educational tool that can be used to bridge the geographic and cultural gaps between providers, supply up-to-the-minute content and research findings, and create meaningful collaboration and discourse between HIV/AIDS educators, advocates and community outreach workers. Because of the accessibility and scalability of Internet-based education, this course and others modeled on it have the potential to meet the professional development needs of a vast number and variety of HIV/AIDS professionals.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
• Identify the ways in which a distance learning format promotes collaborative and transformative learning among HIV/AIDS service providers. 2)Evaluate the effectiveness of internet-based HIV/AIDS education in bridging the geographic and cultural barriers between HIV/AIDS service providers.
• Construct an internet-based HIV/AIDS education program that is scalable to include a wide range of providers and geographic regions.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Professional Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.