The state of evolutionary medicine in undergraduate education
The state of evolutionary medicine in undergraduate education
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DOI：
10.1093/emph/eoz012
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发表时间：
2019-01-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Brownell, Sara E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Grunspan, Daniel Z.;Moeller, Karla T.;Brownell, Sara E.
背景和目标：包含进化医学（EM）的本科课程越来越多，但缺乏有关此类课程的量化数据。在本文中，我们按机构和部门类型描述相关课程，并结合相关教师的背景和经验信息。方法：我们搜索了 196 所美国大学的课程目录，以查找包含 EM 的课程，并向 101 名 EM 教师发送了一项调查，询问他们的背景和教学经验。结果：与仅授予学士学位的大学相比，以研究为重点的大学 (R1) 更有可能提供至少一门涵盖健康和疾病的进化应用的课程或硕士学位。 116 所 R1 大学中有 56% 开设了 EM 调查课程，但我们检索的 80 所非 R1 大学中只有 2% 开设了 EM 调查课程。大多数 EM 讲师都有人类学或生物学背景；每位教师的专业领域提供了关于 EM 的持续发展如何因学科而不同的线索。结论和启示：本科生最有可能在研究密集型大学从人类学或生物学的角度了解 EM。人类学和生物学教师（包括与他们分享课程材料的教师）的回应强调，课程可能会因所教授学科的不同而有所不同。 概要 人们越来越认识到进化论与理解健康和疾病的相关性，但缺乏本科教育覆盖范围的记录。本研究探讨了 196 个本科院校中进化医学 (EM) 内容的教学地点以及 53 名讲师如何描述他们教授 EM 的经验。
Background and objectives: Undergraduate courses that include evolutionary medicine (EM) are increasingly available, but quantified data about such courses are lacking. In this article, we describe relevant course offerings by institution and department type, in conjunction with information on the backgrounds and experiences of associated instructors.Methodology: We searched course catalogs from 196 American universities to find courses that include EM, and sent a survey to 101 EM instructors to ask about their backgrounds and teaching experiences.Results: Research-focused universities (R1) were much more likely to offer at least one course that covers evolutionary applications to health and disease than universities that granted only bachelor's or master's degrees. A survey course on EM was offered in 56% of 116 R1 universities, but only 2% of the 80 non-R1 universities we searched. Most EM instructors have backgrounds in anthropology or biology; each instructor's area of expertise provides clues as to how continued growth of EM may occur differently by discipline.Conclusions and implications: Undergraduates are most likely to learn about EM in research-intensive universities from an anthropological or biological perspective. Responses from anthropology and biology instructors, including whom they share course materials with, highlight that courses may differ depending on the discipline in which they are taught.LAY SUMMARY Recognition of evolution's relevance to understanding health and disease is growing, but documentation of coverage in undergraduate education is lacking. This study explores where evolutionary medicine (EM) content is taught across 196 undergraduate institutions and how 53 instructors describe their experiences teaching EM.