Ejaz A Khan, Zahid A Butt, Saleem M Rana, Abida Hayat.
Factors affecting presentation skills of master of science in public health students in a postgraduate public health institution of Pakistan.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;5(3):26-9.

Background: Healthcare professionals need continuous improvement in their skills to excel in their profession. Being able to make an effective presentation is one of the basic attributes expected in the eld of public health. There is lack of evidence from developing countries about quality of education in enhancing public health professionals' ability to make effective communication with the audience. Methods: Analysis of retrospective data of three batches of Master of Science in Public Health students cohorts. The objective was to assess their oral presentation skills in a class room environment. Results: The participants were mostly males with a mean age of 36 years. The majority of them were from medical background. We found no association of presentation skills with age, gender, experience, English language competence, mechanics and eye contact during presentation, and elocution of the participant. However, presentation skills were found to be associated with overall organization (Odds Ratio (OR) = 5.5, 95% Condence Interval (CI): 1.27-23.74), subject knowledge (OR =3.64,95% CI: 1.03-12.80), use of graphics in presentation (OR =11, 95% CI: 1.35-89.70), discussion period (OR= 6.6, 95% CI: 1.35-32.37), and computer skills (OR= 7.8, 95% CI: 1.91-31.78) Conclusion: We conclude that for enabling postgraduate public health professionals in making good presentations, capability to organize their presentations, having good subject knowledge, presenting data with graphics, knowledge and skills to use computers, and discussion of their results with audience are important factors affecting their skills in making good presentations. Keywords: Presentation skills, public health, students, education, developing country

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