Interdisciplinary Training Program Research Articles

Nutritional Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the land-grant university for the State of Illinois, was founded in 1865, and education in nutrition was recorded as early as 1874. Herein, the contributions of the UIUC to research and graduate training in the field of nutrition are highlighted. Over the past 150 years, faculty members from many academic units have provided foundational nutrition research, including identifying the last essential amino acid, threonine, and establishing chemically defined amino acid diets for chicks, rats, dogs, and cats that led to establishing amino acid requirements for these species. Research on the adverse health effects of trans fatty acids supported their removal from the food system. UIUC has led in the area of functional foods for health, including plant bioactives, soy, and fiber. More recently, UIUC faculty have evaluated the interactions between dietary components and neurocognitive, microbiome, and health outcomes, including cancer. In 2020, the cross-campus Personalized Nutrition Initiative was launched to coordinate interdisciplinary research. The Division of Nutritional Sciences was established in 1968 as one of the country’s first interdisciplinary graduate training programs. The Division of Nutritional Sciences program has conferred over 580 degrees and has implemented innovations in graduate education, many supported by federal training grants and endowed awards and programs.

Design of an interdisciplinary training program for interprofessional collaboration in health and social services in patient partnership: contribution of an empowering approach reinforced by instructional design

Interprofessional education (IPE) has been a key area of research and teaching practice for the past twenty years in both university and practice settings in the health sciences and social psychology. IPE training opportunities arise when students from multiple health professions interactively learn together about interprofessional collaboration and how to improve care outcomes for the community at large. It has been proven that the design of care is of higher quality when healthcare professionals understand each other's respective roles, facilitating their communication and teamwork. However, this type of pedagogical approach to interdisciplinary training is fraught with problems, such as communication barriers, synchronization of schedules and logistics, as well as the compartmentalization of professions, which can lead to prejudice despite the educational efforts made. What's more, these courses are attended by large cohorts of initial university trainees, and their pedagogical design may lack authentic anchors, thus diminishing the ability of individuals to mobilize interprofessional collaboration in care partnerships. This article proposes a theoretical model based on an enhanced capability approach, including the use of pedagogical design for student success, to design this type of training by overcoming.

Development of an interdisciplinary training program about chronic pain management with a cognitive behavioural approach for healthcare professionals: part of a hybrid effectiveness-implementation study

BackgroundMany applied postgraduate pain training programs are monodisciplinary, whereas interdisciplinary training programs potentially improve interdisciplinary collaboration, which is favourable for managing patients with chronic pain. However, limited research exists on the development and impact of interdisciplinary training programs, particularly in the context of chronic pain.MethodsThis study aimed to describe the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary training program regarding the management of patients with chronic pain, which is part of a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study. The targeted groups included medical doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dentists and pharmacists. An interdisciplinary expert panel was organised to provide its perception of the importance of formulated competencies for integrating biopsychosocial pain management with a cognitive behavioural approach into clinical practice. They were also asked to provide their perception of the extent to which healthcare professionals already possess the competencies in their clinical practice. Additionally, the expert panel was asked to formulate the barriers and needs relating to training content and the implementation of biopsychosocial chronic pain management with a cognitive behavioural approach in clinical practice, which was complemented with a literature search. This was used to develop and adapt the training program to the barriers and needs of stakeholders.ResultsThe interdisciplinary expert panel considered the competencies as very important. Additionally, they perceived a relatively low level of healthcare professionals’ possession of the competencies in their clinical practice. A wide variety of barriers and needs for stakeholders were formulated and organized within the Theoretical Domain Framework linked to the COM-B domains; ‘capability’, ‘opportunity’, and ‘motivation’. The developed interdisciplinary training program, including two workshops of seven hours each and two e-learning modules, aimed to improve HCP’s competencies for integrating biopsychosocial chronic pain management with a cognitive behavioural approach into clinical practice.ConclusionWe designed an interdisciplinary training program, based on formulated barriers regarding the management of patients with chronic pain that can be used as a foundation for developing and enhancing the quality of future training programs.

Building Inclusive Dispositions Within Interdisciplinary Training for Teachers of the Deaf and Speech-Language Pathologists

Effective services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing depend on uniquely skilled professionals who coordinate their support. University programs have developed interdisciplinary models, training different types of professionals together to equip them for work settings that are increasingly inclusive and collaborative. These training programs address standards-based knowledge and skills from various disciplines, but may not be as deliberate in addressing the professional dispositions that are foundational to collaborative practice. Particularly when belief systems intersect topics of language use and identity, dispositions can be challenging to teach and are often applied differently across professions. This article provides a narrative description of an interdisciplinary training program that equips teachers of the deaf and speech-language pathologists. Using a “self-reflective cycle” representative of participatory-action research, it considers both missteps and successes within a continuous improvement process, and the integration of interdisciplinary dispositions as a foundational component of training. A framework of “What to Teach,” Why to Teach It,” and “How to Teach It” is provided that can be embedded or adapted for similar interdisciplinary training programs. The identified dispositions are informed by research-based best practices and center on inclusivity.

Strengthening graduate education and addressing environmental challenges through solutions-oriented partnerships and interdisciplinary training

Graduate students across disciplines are eager for experiential training that enables them to address real-world environmental challenges. Simultaneously, communities across the world face numerous environmental challenges, including increased frequency of extreme heat in summer and poor air quality, and could benefit from the expertise and engagement of graduate students with the requisite skills and interests to address these challenges. In this paper we bring together lessons learned from three interdisciplinary graduate training programs focused on preparing graduate students to contribute to urban environmental solutions by working in partnerships with non-academic organizations. We discuss the multiple elements required for partnerships to be mutually beneficial, including using a T-shaped approach to training that incorporates both depth and breadth while making strong efforts to broaden participation. We share lessons with the goal of enhancing graduate programs to improve training of students to address urban environmental challenges globally. This training aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 17, “Partnership for the Goals,” which aims to achieve sustainable development goals through partnerships among entities.

The Reform Process of Introducing the Licensing of Primary and Secondary School Principals

To improve the quality of pre-university education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is necessary to start a reform process aimed at increasing the competence of school principals. In accordance with the practice implemented in most countries of the region and many countries of the European Union, it is necessary to introduce the licensing of principals of primary and secondary schools. The paper provides a brief overview of the names of the modules in the training programs and the duration of the training after which school principals are licensed in the countries of the region, as well as the activities carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina that preceded the introduction of principal licensing in the field of primary and secondary education. It is stated in the paper that the current regulatory changes should enable the licensing of principals of primary and secondary schools. Recommendations were given for adopting the occupational standards of school principals, as well as all the other steps that need to be taken. By implementing the process of licensing for school principals, the state would receive a significant resource of highly educated staff who have acquired competencies through an interdisciplinary training program for the management of primary and secondary schools.

Differences in attitudes and beliefs about psychedelic-assisted therapy among social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists in the United States

AbstractBackground and aimsBecause psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is likely to be provided by interdisciplinary professional teams comprised of social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, understanding the acceptability of this treatment approach among these professional disciplines is essential as the treatment advances through approval processes at the Food and Drug Administration.MethodsThe study includes data from three separate survey studies investigating the attitudes and beliefs about PAT among national samples of social workers (n = 309), psychiatrists (n = 181), and psychologists (n = 366). The combined sample (n = 856) was predominantly female (64.3%), with a mean age of 49 (SD = 16.13), and 17 (SD = 13.56) years of professional experience.ResultsThere were no significant differences between groups in confidence that PAT would be effective. However, there were significant between-group differences in psychiatrists' understanding of PAT compared to social workers. Next, psychologists' mean ratings of the acceptability of PAT were significantly greater than social workers' ratings. Mean ratings about believing that PAT was a reasonable treatment approach were higher among psychologists compared to social workers and psychiatrists. Additionally, mean ratings regarding the disadvantages of PAT were significantly greater among social workers compared to psychologists and psychiatrists. Lastly, social workers' ratings that PAT could permanently improve clients' lives were significantly lower than psychiatrists and psychologists.ConclusionsFindings help elucidate overall impressions of PAT among disciplines likely involved in providing this treatment should it be approved and suggest the need for education and training across professions. However, given the inconsistencies across disciplines, more research is needed to inform successful interdisciplinary training programs and better understand potential barriers to dissemination of this new treatment.

Parental Awareness Regarding Shaken Baby Syndrome and Associated Factors in Jordan

Background: Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a serious public health issue believed to result from non-accidental trauma by violently shaking the baby. Purpose: To evaluate the awareness about SBS among parents in Jordan. Risk factors associated with SBS including psychological distress and age were investigated. Methods: A descriptive questionnairebased study consisting of demographic characteristics, SBS knowledge, and parental selfreported psychological distress was conducted. The questionnaire was conducted online between September and October 2022. Descriptive analysis of frequency and percent distribution was used for demographic analysis. Contingency table (Cross Tabulation and Chi-square) along with frequency analysis was used to describe the associations among the frequency distributions of the categorical variables. Results: Over two-thirds (67.65%) of parents (a total of 306 participants) were unaware of SBS and 68.30% of them reported shaking their children. Aging was significantly associated with less SBS knowledge and more self-reported psychological distress. Self-reported psychological distress was significantly associated with increased shaking incidents (p<0.05). Most parents who had shaken their children and were unaware of the syndrome reported psychological distress at an ages of 30 and above. Conclusion: A serious lack of SBS awareness exists among parents in Jordan. Parents’ characteristics including age and self-reported psychological distress are important factors to formulate a logical understanding of the SBS phenomenon. The triad of SBS knowledge, age and psychological distress should be essential components of successful educational programs. Implications for Nursing: The study supports the need for SBS interdisciplinary education and training programs for parents and professionals caring for babies in pediatrics units. Keywords: Shaken baby syndrome, Knowledge, Psychological distress, Abusive head trauma.

Recognising research development and training in history and the public humanities through university and museum-led partnerships in Australia

This article explores the value that history-based research training, delivered across institutions, can offer to university, museum and public sectors for institutional transformation and the public good. The value proposition is explored in relation to a collaborative pilot program that was run in 2023 across the Australian National University and the National Museum of Australia. The article locates the pilot program in context of the historical development of museum studies programs in Australia, and the concurrent but often parallel development of interdisciplinary graduate research training programs across a range of humanities fields including history and anthropology. The article positions the field of public humanities as an alternative orientation that may contribute to policy imperatives facing higher education institutions (public engagement and impact) and the museum sector alike. It argues in the final instance that all research training for cultural work should be interdisciplinary, collaborative and cross-institutional.

Generalist Early Education and Specialist Physical Education Teachers’ Views on the Scope of Early Childhood Physical Education

On a national ministerial announcement concerning employing specialist Physical Education (PE) teachers to teach PE in early childhood education (as opposed to generalist early education teachers), this research sought to investigate teachers’ views on this issue. Taking Lawson's (1983) theory of occupational socialization as a sensitizing framework, we examined whether teachers' specialization and experiences of participation in PE influenced their perspectives on early childhood PE teaching. Twenty in-service teachers, male and female, working in public education as generalist early childhood teachers (n = 10) and specialist physical education teachers (n = 10) participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and the thematic analysis technique were used to generate data. The results showed that irrespective of their specialization, teachers’ positive acculturation experiences in PE and sports influenced their attitudes towards early childhood PE. However, all participants assigned a functional-practical value to PE rather than an educational one. This finding was attributed to broader socio-cultural influences concerning the scope of school PE in early education. Both generalist and specialist teachers perceived their professional roles and responsibilities as distinct. They advocated for establishing interdisciplinary professional training programs as a prerequisite for employing PE specialists in early childhood education. Even though teachers’ specialization shapes their scientific assumptions and understandings, personal acculturation and professional socialization experiences seem influential in determining their daily practices at school. The emerging early childhood PE literature could open up a myriad of opportunities for research in this field, always keeping in mind that the learning needs and interests of young children stay in the foreground.

Interdisciplinary training programs in obstetrics

ZusammenfassungEine geburtshilfliche Simulation gibt den Teilnehmenden die Möglichkeit, realitätsnah klinische Szenarien durchzuspielen und sowohl technische als auch „non technical skills“ im Team zu trainieren. Die anschließende Nachbesprechung evaluiert die Simulation. Mit zunehmender Verunsicherung im Ausführen geburtshilflicher Manöver durch fehlende praktische Erfahrung und Angst vor Verantwortung können Aufbau und Erhalt von Simulationstrainings auch einen attraktiven neuen Weg darstellen, das Interesse für die Geburtshilfe zu stärken und zu fördern. Bisher zeigten sich positive Ergebnisse in der Zufriedenheit der Teilnehmenden, in der Gewinnung von Sicherheit beim Durchführen der Manöver, in der Verbesserung der interdisziplinären Teamarbeit und im klinischen Outcome. Die Durchführung der Simulationen ist kosten- und zeitintensiv; Teamwork und Kommunikation lassen sich nur im interdisziplinären und interprofessionellen Setting (Hebammen, Geburtshelfer/innen, Anästhesisten/innen) trainieren. Grundvoraussetzungen der Simulation sind Unterstützung durch die Klinikleitung, Motivation der Teilnehmenden und in Debriefingverfahren geschulte Trainer.

Anticoagulation management: an interdisciplinary curriculum for family medicine residents.

Anticoagulants are high-risk medications with the potential to cause significant patient harm if inappropriately managed. Medical trainees and practicing physicians often report inadequate education and uncertainty in decision-making related to anticoagulation therapy. To address this gap, an interdisciplinary Anticoagulation Management Training Program was developed for family medicine residents at the Toronto Western Family Health Team. Evaluation data demonstrated both improved knowledge and confidence in prescribing, monitoring, and adjusting anticoagulation therapy. This suggests that similar dedicated curricula be considered in other family medicine programs in order to optimize patient safety by enhancing the knowledge and self-efficacy of future practising physicians.

INTERDISCIPLINARY DEMENTIA CARE WORKFORCE TRAINING AND QI IMPLEMENTATION: LEARNINGS FROM 25 HOSPICES

Abstract To build and sustain a dementia-capable clinical workforce and care delivery organizations, it is essential to systematically disseminate evidence-based, interdisciplinary dementia care programs. The outbreak of COVID-19, clinical staff shortages, and competing priorities experienced by healthcare organizations including staff vaccination and other regulatory requirements, pose significant challenges to the continuation of agency-wide, interdisciplinary dementia care workforce training and quality improvement. In this symposium, we present our experience Implementing Aliviado Dementia Care, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary dementia care workforce training and quality improvement program amid COVID-19 across 25 U.S. hospice agencies, as part of an embedded pragmatic clinical trial. Aliviado Dementia Care consists of interdisciplinary dementia care workforce training, treatment algorithms, assessments, care plans, caregiver education, and clinical workflow changes. The symposium begins with a discussion of the training, knowledge improvement, turnover, and replenishing strategies of hospice champions during COVID-19. We then discuss how we tailored dementia care training for each of the skilled hospice disciplines (i.e., medicine, nursing, social work, spiritual care) and provide two case studies elucidating how additional tailoring was performed to fit local agency culture and needs during COVID-19. Furthermore, we discuss how we developed and iterated training for home health/hospice aides, the usability and training results, and specific considerations for training aides during COVID-19. Lastly, we conclude the symposium with a discussion of salient strategies and technologies that help sustain our nationwide implementation despite the ongoing COVID-19. Throughout each of these abstracts we also discuss how COVID-19 affected, and created differential implementation of components of the intervention.

Knowledge, attitude and perception among medical students and healthcare professionals regarding male infertility: a cross-sectional survey from Bangladesh

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding male infertility among medical students and healthcare workers in Bangladesh.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study.SettingThis study covered eight divisions of...

Re-appraising disciplines: a commentary

ABSTRACT Our aim in this commentary is to challenge one of the claims made by interdisciplinarity advocates: that disciplines are silos and, as such, hinder cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange. This claim is a central feature in interdisciplinarity advocates’ rationale for promoting structural changes across universities and reallocating resources toward interdisciplinary research units and training programmes. We use citation practices to demonstrate that cross disciplinary communication occurs despite claims otherwise. Considering the overwhelming amount of data generated by bibliometric studies, we argue that knowledge exchange across disciplines is too large to be ignored and that the silo thesis should be re-examined. The longitudinal perspective adopted by bibliometricians also shows that cross-disciplinary communication is far from being a new trend, but to the contrary is a well-established practice among academic communities. We begin our commentary by briefly reviewing three widespread assumptions underpinning pro-interdisciplinary arguments: (1) disciplines’ specialization hinders cross-disciplinary communication; (2) disciplines shun away from addressing real world problems; (3) disciplines are self-centred entities primarily competing for academic authority. We conclude our commentary by suggesting that a better understanding of the benefits and limits of interdisciplinarity requires moving away from broad statements about the alleged insularity of disciplines and openness of interdisciplinarity.

Building the Nigerian Palliative Care Workforce: An Interdisciplinary Distance Learning Training Program.

Education and capacity building in palliative care are greatly needed in Nigeria. Currently, two institutions integrate palliative care into the undergraduate medical curriculum and no post graduate training exists. A team from the University of Lagos in Nigeria and Northwestern University in the US collaborated to design, implement, and evaluate a 12-hour virtual palliative care training program for Nigerian health professionals. This study investigated the impact of the first session of the training program on healthcare professionals' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and confidence in palliative care. The Education in Palliative and End-of-Life (EPEC) curriculum and the Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA) curriculum were used as foundations for the program and adapted for the Nigerian context. Delivered online, the training focused on goals of palliative care, whole patient assessment, communication skills, pain management, psychosocial issues, palliative care in COVID, oncology, and HIV. A mixed-methods evaluation based on Kirkpatrick's evaluation framework was used and data were gathered from surveys and focus groups. Thirty-five health professionals completed the training. The training had a positive impact on knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Confidence in providing end-of-life care increased from 27.3% to 92.9% while confidence in prescribing medication to relieve symptoms at the end of life increased from 42.9% to 92.0%. Performance on multiple-choice knowledge tests increased by 10% (p < 0.01). All participants stated that they would recommend the program to a peer while 96.4% reported the program was relevant to the Nigerian context. Qualitative analysis suggested that the training would help participants provide more holistic care for patients, communicate better, and change how they interacted with families. Topics to be addressed in future training were identified. This virtual training can be an important element in palliative care capacity building in Nigeria and represents a model for global health collaboration.

Addressing the Need for Training More School Psychologists to Serve Toddlers and Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen significantly in the past two decades. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of mental health providers who have specialized training in delivering evidenced-based services to this population. Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an evidenced-based treatment recommended for toddlers with ASD, and school psychologists are uniquely positioned to help children with ASD receive it. However, many school psychologists do not receive adequate training in this subspecialty. This paper makes recommendations to school psychology training programs about how to add or improve training in this subspecialty based on the results of an Office of Special Education Programs grant-funded ASD training program which involved collaboration between a NASP-approved and APA-accredited school psychology training program and a community-based early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) clinic. The grant supported development of an interdisciplinary didactic and clinical training program to increase the ASD knowledge, skills, and competencies of school psychology graduate students, with the broader goals of developing a replicable training model and increasing the workforce of trained providers for this underserved population. Fifteen graduate students completed the training program. Outcomes related to trainee knowledge, skills, and competencies, trainee satisfaction, and lessons learned over time analyzed within a logic model that guided the project’s development and execution can be informative for other school psychology programs undertaking training in this subspecialty.

The concept of an interdisciplinary program for advanced training of employees of educational and social institutions

The article presents the concept of an interdisciplinary training program for instructors in the direction of socio-cultural rehabilitation of the elderly and senile.

Establishment of a vaccine administration training program for medical students

While vaccine administration training is included in the curriculum for several health professions, it is not universally incorporated into the medical school preclinical curriculum. To fill this education gap, a pilot vaccine training program for first- and second-year medical students was conducted using an online Centers for Disease Control and Prevention module and an in-person simulation with nursing faculty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program. Pre- and post-surveys used a Likert 5-point scale to assess the training effectiveness. Ninety-four students completed the surveys (response rate, 93.1%). Following the training, students felt more comfortable giving a patient a vaccine under the supervision of a physician (P < 0.0001), volunteering in a community-wide vaccine campaign (P < 0.0001), and administering vaccines during clinical rotations (P < 0.0001). Most students, 93.6%, found the in-person training to be “effective” or “very effective,” and 97.8% felt that learning how to administer vaccines should be incorporated into the preclinical medical curriculum. Without this program, 76 students (80.1%) would not have been able to participate in a vaccine training. The interdisciplinary training program outlined in this study may serve as a model for similar initiatives at other medical schools.

To Connect and Educate: Why Families Engage in Family-Professional Partnership Training Experiences.

Successful family-professional partnerships (FPP) have been shown to positively impact both satisfaction with care and health outcomes for children with disabilities and their families. Many healthcare training programs have recognized the benefit of FPP training and often include learning experiences that feature families as teachers or mentors. However, most research on FPP training has focused on professionals' experiences, and not on families' experience in the roles of mentors and experts. The Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program is a graduate-level interdisciplinary training program with sites across the country. LEND programs train future healthcare and service professionals in the disability field and often utilize a Family Mentor Experience (FME) as one aspect of their training. This study used qualitative interviews to examine the experiences of eight family mentors who worked with trainees in one LEND program. Overall, the family mentors expressed positive views regarding the FME, describing how it allowed them to connect with trainees, other families, and community resources, as well as educating trainees. Family mentors also identified several facilitators and barriers to participation. Study findings provide information on the FFP's impact on family mentors and guidance on how programs can support sustainable, effective FPP experiences.