Introduction
The use of technology in aiding nursing education has helped to change the teaching strategies used and improve learning outcomes. The same approaches can be used when teaching populations about heath topics. The use of technology allows a community health nurse to combine different media to god effect, thereby enhancing learning. This is especially important for populations that are not proficient in English. Multimedia presentations that incorporate texts and graphics help them visualize the concepts, thereby mediating for the insufficient English skills. This paper outlines the concept of a teaching tool for immigrant Chinese population aged forty years and above living in New York.
Educational Tool
The influence that technology has had on nursing teaching demands that technology is used in the delivery of health education. The education tool will incorporate three aspects of technology. The three technological aspects that will be incorporated in the tool include texts, graphics and videos. The use of these three technological aspects is important because it stimulates different sensory organs, thereby enhancing learning. The texts will be used to highlight different concepts on the particular health topics that will be covered in the teaching sessions. The text will be simplified in light of the low proficiency in English of the targeted population. This will enable the communication of health tips with ease, so that all the members find it relatively easy to understand the concepts being taught.
The graphics as technological components in the teaching strategies will feature pictorial presentations of the concepts being learnt during the teaching sessions. The graphics will be drawn carefully so that they reflect the context of the sessions as closely as possible. This will involve the use of graphics that are close to the target population. For instance, graphics of Chinese culture which have relevance to the health topics being taught will be used in order to enhance learning. The use of graphics in teaching health topics is an approach that is recommended by Pavlovich-Danis (2012) where she argues that the use graphic images helps grab the attention of the learners, more so for the visual learners. The use of graphics also helps draw relationships between concepts and also lay emphasis on the take-home points using limited words.
The third technological element of the teaching tool will be the use of videos to augment learning. Sharoff (2011) argue that the use of videos through websites such as YouTube provides an innovative, easy and user-friendly way for the learners to engage with one another and the concepts taught during the sessions. This scholar argues that the use of videos is stimulating and also helps present the concepts in an unconventional but effective way. This perspective is also supported by Everett & Wright (2012) who argue that multimedia components incorporated in teaching help in the simulation of concepts, thereby allowing the learners to visualize the effect and causes of different health conditions.
The Target Population
This teaching tool is designed for Chinese Americans living in New York City. This population is different from my population in a number of ways. The target population is aged over forty years, and as such is older compared to my population which is below twenty five years. Additionally, this population is of a different ethnicity, the Chinese descent. As such, their culture is different compared to the American culture. However, the most significant difference between the target population and my population is their perception on health. findings from a health assessment of older people of Chinese descent revealed that their perception of health were influenced by their cultural conception which involved social support, physical function, cognitive function and psychological well being. These differences in perception are significant in this tool because they have to be addressed, as this population looks at health in a holistic manner.
Another prevalent difference between this population and my population is barriers to health care. These include affordability, availability and cultural predispositions. This is important because it addresses the need of health care services that are culturally appropriate for this population, particularly the age group (Dong et al,. 2010). This has implication to nursing education to this population and as such, the teaching tool used should exude sensitivity to these differences.
Conclusion
A community health nurse is involved in various activities in the delivery of health care services. Part of these activities includes heath education in important topics in health. The strategy through which health education is administered is dependent on various reasons. However, the use of technology is almost mandatory, especially because of its importance in critical thinking in the nursing process, and its augmenting properties in nursing education. This paper highlights a teaching tool that incorporates technological elements such as text, graphics and videos. The use of these technological elements is widely supported by literature as highlighted in the paper. The target population for the tool is adults over forty years of Chinese descent living in New York City. The paper highlights the differences between this population and my population. This serves to input sensitivity into the tool, thereby improving its effectiveness.
References
Dong, X., Chang, E., Wong, E.s Wong, B. Skarupski, K. and Simon, M. (2010). Assessing the Health Needs of Chinese Older Adults: Findings from a Community-Based Participatory Research Study in Chicago's Chinatown, Journal of aging research, 10.4061/2010/124246
Everett, F. & Wright, W. (2012). Using multimedia to teach students essential skills. Nursing Times; 108: 30/31, 18-19.
Pavlovich-Danis, S. (2012). Minimize words, maximize impact with simple graphics. American Nurse Today, 7(1)
Sharoff, L., (2011). Integrating YouTube into the Nursing Curriculum, The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 16 No. 3.
