Teaching for critical thinking represents a vital and emerging priority in school health education. A variety of conceptions of critical thinking and approaches to teaching for critical thinking exist in the literature. This paper explores the relevance of Richard Paul's concept of critical thinking to health education. Paul's work on critical thinking has been widely disseminated and features three inter-related components called the elements of reasoning, intellectual standards, and intellectual traits. Each component appears highly relevant to health education. Paul's approach is also based on natural rather than technical language which improves its utility in learning. Unanswered questions about the approach concern the degree to which the thinking skills and traits can be transferred to health instruction and the lack of evaluation research demonstrating its efficacy. Further inquiry into the applicability and efficacy of the approach is needed.
Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and various other conditions. Approximately 70 million Americans are hypertensive. Among women age 18 and over, 31.7% have high blood pressure (BP) and only about 60% of those women have it under control. The purpose of this evaluation was to understand blood pressure screening procedures among Illinois WISEWOMAN Program (IWP) providers. Procedures at primary care providers (PCP) compared to obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYN) were of interest. A qualitative approach was used featuring interviews with allied health staff members who conduct blood pressure screenings. The focus of the interviews included the use and understanding of The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) guidelines, BP screening procedures, and perceptions of the IWP. Twenty allied health professionals who conduct blood pressure screenings with IWP participants were interviewed. Transcripts of these interviews were made and a detailed analysis was conducted.
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