Education and training are key strategies to further integrate the One Health approach in the local setting. Adapting One Health modules is our first step, but what would be the next? Having a way to know if these modules are effective in teaching the lessons they intend to teach. Hence, the Awareness-Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (A-KAP) survey was born. This project was led by Dr. Renard Jamora—Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños—and was made possible through the generous support of Chevron, the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The A-KAP survey aimed to cover each of the modules being adapted by PhilOHUN faculty members. The questions for each module were drafted based on sentence outlines that captured the main themes and ideas contained in the modules. The drafted questions were then reviewed by the respective module content creators and were later on revised according to their feedback. Initially, there were a total of 17 questions on Awareness, 50 on Knowledge, 28 on Attitude, and 17 on Practices.
For pilot testing, the questions were combined into a single online questionnaire that was administered before and after the webinar, “One Health Approach in Health Sciences Education,” held from 1-3 September 2022. The results of the questionnaire showed that mean scores were generally higher after the posttest, and this increase was significant particularly for questions on Awareness and Knowledge. Scores under Attitude and Practices were also mostly higher after the posttest, but the differences were not large. It must be noted that since the webinar is a one-time intervention, the difference in Attitude and Practices may be different when the modules are used over a longer period of time.
Focus group discussions were also conducted among students and professionals who answered the questionnaire to determine how the questionnaire may be improved for future use. Although the participants noted points for improvement, it was the general opinion of the focus groups that the questionnaire was attractive, easy to use, relevant, and acceptable.
The development of the A-KAP survey provides a valuable resource in assessing how much students will learn from the adapted One Health modules. General questions pertaining to One Health and related concepts could also be used to assess learning in other educational settings that focus on One Health.
A copy of the full survey report and the A-KAP surveys may be provided upon reasonable request to contact@philohun.org.