TABLE 1—
Participants’ Changes in Training and Research Capacity Measured as Self-Rated Self-Efficacy in 19 Course Skills: Data & Democracy Surveys, California, Cycle 1 (2005–2007) and Cycle 2 (2008–2010)
| Ratingsa |
|||
| Confidence Measurement Item | Precourse, Mean (SD) | Postcourse, Mean (SD) | Pre–Post Change |
| Training capacity mean scale | 3.12 (0.79) | 4.27 (0.61) | +1.14 (0.81)* |
| Understanding characteristics of an effective trainer | 3.44 (0.94) | 4.42 (0.76) | +0.98 (1.14)* |
| Understanding adult learning theory and training needs | 2.84 (1.04) | 4.40 (0.69) | +1.56 (1.09)* |
| Identifying and using effective training methods | 3.05 (0.96) | 4.30 (0.74) | +1.25 (1.16)* |
| Tailoring new material to a training audience | 3.05 (1.05) | 4.17 (0.74) | +1.13 (1.01)* |
| Using audiovisual aids for training purposes | 3.40 (1.03) | 4.20 (0.81) | +0.80 (1.04)* |
| Developing a workshop training plan | 2.96 (1.00) | 4.15 (0.87) | +1.19 (1.09)* |
| Conducting a community training | 3.14 (1.10) | 4.25 (0.78) | +1.11 (1.08)* |
| Research capacity mean scale | 2.77 (0.81) | 4.16 (0.68) | +1.38 (0.83)* |
| Developing a community partnership to conduct a community assessment | 2.96 (1.16) | 4.18 (0.92) | +1.21 (1.11)* |
| Developing goals and objectives to focus a community assessment | 2.87 (0.95) | 4.32 (0.76) | +1.45 (1.04)* |
| Identifying good sources of health data for community advocacy purposes | 2.77 (1.06) | 4.16 (0.82) | +1.39 (1.13)* |
| Determining when to collect new health data | 2.47 (1.08) | 3.93 (1.01) | +1.46 (1.12)* |
| Identifying pros and cons of various data collection methods | 2.65 (1.05) | 4.22 (0.83) | +1.56 (1.18)* |
| Identifying appropriate data analysis methods for quantitative and qualitative data | 2.40 (1.15) | 4.13 (0.86) | +1.73 (1.25)* |
| Communicating community assessment findings to targeted audiences | 2.94 (1.05) | 4.30 (0.81) | +1.35 (1.18)* |
| Developing a community assessment plan | 2.56 (1.06) | 4.22 (0.79) | +1.67 (1.15)* |
| Conducting a community assessment | 2.56 (1.09) | 4.21 (0.75) | +1.65 (1.17)* |
| Working with other researchers | 3.29 (1.05) | 4.04 (0.90) | +0.75 (1.11)* |
| Telling my community's story in a compelling way to funders and policymakers | 3.03 (1.31) | 4.04 (0.99) | +1.01 (1.30)* |
| Training and research capacity: training others how to plan and conduct a community assessment | 2.58 (1.27) | 4.12 (0.79) | +1.54 (1.28)* |
Note. From pre- and postcourse surveys, n = 142 matched pairs.
a
“How confident you feel today in this skill?” (scale from 0 to 5, where 5 = “extremely confident”).
*Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test P < .001.