DEVELOPMENT OF A LONGITUDINAL NUTRITION CURRICULUM

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DESCRIPTION (adapted from abstract) The University of Texas Medical School at Houston (UTMSH) in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston proposes the development and implementation of a longitudinal and case-based nutrition curriculum that spans the four years of medical school education and the residency programs. The investigators propose to integrate at both schools a nutrition framework in general, and more specifically focusing on cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and physical activity, into multiple levels of physician training from the first year of medical school to senior house staff officers, with the goal of incorporating nutrition into the training of physicians and ultimately their practice patterns. Specific nutrition competencies, instructional activities, and learning outcomes will be developed during the first year and phased into the existing curriculum beginning with the entering class of 2001. Students' nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and clinical skills will be evaluated at regular intervals throughout the four years; student focus groups will evaluate the effectiveness of instructional activities. The specific aims are to: 1) develop, implement, and evaluate a high quality nutrition curriculum within the existing medical curriculum and residency programs using innovative web- based modules, problem based learning (PBL), and small group discussions; 2) continue collaboration with the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at UTMB for dissemination and inclusion of nutrition modules and PBL cases into their medical curriculum and residency programs; 3) disseminate training modules in nutrition and disease prevention to other health care professional schools; and 4) provide research opportunities for medical students that focus on the cultural impact of diet and lifestyle factors on disease risk as well as prevention and management of chronic disease in the ethnically diverse areas of Houston, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Mexico border.