Texas A&M Faculty And Researchers Develop Chagas Case Study Learning Module
Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences have turned the recent increase in Chagas disease cases in Texas into a learning opportunity.
Faculty and researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) have turned the recent increase in Chagas disease cases in Texas into a learning opportunity by developing an online case study learning module. The case study was one of only 15 selected for web publication by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges’ (AAVMC) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research’s (APTR) joint One Health Interprofessional Education Initiative.
Chagas disease, an infectious disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by the kissing bug, has many Texans concerned. Recent spread of Chagas disease, which affects humans and animals in the southern United States and Latin America, has made media headlines. This increase in cases and growing concern over the disease led researchers to develop the Chagas case study as an educational tool for health professionals.
The module was created through a collaboration between faculty and researchers at the CVM, Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas A&M Health Science Center–McAllen. The module was supported through funding from the Texas A&M One Health Initiative.
The module’s content was developed by faculty and students at the CVM: Associate Professor Dr. Ashley Saunders, expert in clinical cardiology in dogs, as well as Assistant Professor Dr. Sarah Hamer, Ph.D. student Rachel Curtis-Robles, and veterinary student Trevor Tenney, experts in the ecology and epidemiology of the kissing bug and T. cruzi. Additional content addressing public health was contributed by Dr. Ann Millard, associate professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center–McAllen, and Dr. Melissa Garcia, research associate at Baylor College of Medicine.
The case was developed in collaboration with The Center for Educational Technologies (CET) at the CVM, including Dr. Jodi Korich and Dr. Jordan Tayce. The web-based case study allows students to make a series of clinical decisions as they follow a real case from diagnosis through treatment and is supplemented with instructional video lectures, diagnostic charts, and other reference materials in an interactive and media-rich format.
“The case study turned out really cool, and it’s interactive. That is the beauty of working with the CET,” said Saunders, who was designated as an AAVMC One Health Scholar as the principal investigator. “The whole point is that faculty at another university in other health professions could teach their students with a case study that was developed by experts from Texas A&M.”
“It’s all digitally interactive,” said Tayce, an instructional assistant professor at the CET. “A user can be in any location at any time and still go through this case. That’s what makes our case study unique.”
The case study features a dog diagnosed with Chagas disease in Texas, but it is not limited to veterinary applications. According to the researchers, the Chagas case highlights the One Health Initiative by focusing on important connections between humans, animals, and the environment. Therefore, it can be used by students in a variety of disciplines, including human and veterinary medicine.
Continue reading on the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences website.
