Public health grand rounds at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: evaluation feedback from a broad community of learners.

Abstract

To evaluate the relevance and educational benefit of monthly Public Health Grand Rounds (GR), an hour-long interactive lecture series featuring 1 current, relevant public health topic. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of data evaluating GR format and content submitted by 2063 continuing education (CE) participants. Survey data submitted electronically to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online CE system from January 2010 through December 2011. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, health education specialists, and other health care professionals seeking CE credits for Public Health GR. Proportion of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that GR is using educational strategies that enhance user learning and is meeting preidentified learning objectives. On questions involving instructional strategies and delivery methods, 95.0% and 95.6% of respondents, respectively, agreed or strongly agreed that the GR was conducive to learning. More than 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they could describe the burden of the disease/condition in question and identify key preventive interventions, knowledge gaps, and measures of public health progress. These evaluation results indicate that the GR is meeting content-specific and educational needs of diverse health care professionals. The GR models organized scientific discussions on evidence and translation into real-world impacts of decreased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs, and links public health to clinical practice. This promotes a greater understanding of the interplay of different health fields and may lead to greater and cross-disciplinary collaborations.