Interprofessional Knowledge Research Articles

Learning Experiences and Didactic Needs of German Healthcare Professions: A Focus Group Study for the Design of Personalized Interprofessional Further Education in Dementia Healthcare

Considering the multifaceted nature of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and the necessity for interprofessional knowledge, this research extends its scope to encompass professionals with diverse levels of training and experience in dementia care. A need analysis for the project “My INdividual Digital EDucation.RUHR” (MINDED.RUHR) is conducted to develop an automatized recommender system for individual learning content using AI. In this sub-study, the aim was to reveal didactic specialties, knowledge gaps, and structural challenges of further education in dementia care of different health professions and to derive learning preference personae. Eight focus group interviews among nine health professions and up to six participants (N = 34) each took place to survey distinct didactic experiences and learning needs. The results reflect various learning preferences, with a propensity to multimedia, practical, and interactive tasks. Health professions are used to digital education but show aversions against synchronous e-learning formats. The derived learning preference personae constitute profound blueprints for a user-centered digital education design process, aiming to establish personalized and representative further education in dementia care applicable to various individual preferences and structural workplace challenges of healthcare professions.

‘He just looked like he couldn’t learn, whereas he just couldn’t see’: exploring clinician experiences working with people who have co-occurring communication and visual impairment

ABSTRACT Individuals with concurrent visual and communication impairments necessitate specialized, multidisciplinary care, yet the adequacy of orthoptists' and speech pathologists' skills and resources remains underexplored. This research aims to examine these professionals' perspectives and test the acceptability of qualitative methods before a broader study. Qualitative focus group study with thematic analysis. Three, 1.5-hour semi-structured focus groups were conducted with a total of seven clinicians on videoconferencing platform, Zoom. Four orthoptists and three speech pathologists with at least 12 months of relevant clinical experience took part in focus groups. Focus groups were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Four main themes with 12 subthemes were identified. Theme 1, positive impacts of interprofessional care, reflected the value of collaboration, dual knowledge and addressing both disabilities in improving client outcomes. Theme 2 highlighted barriers to effective clinical management, including limited communication between professions, lack of interprofessional knowledge, poor role awareness, orthoptists use of objective measures, and resource barriers. Theme 3 related to participants’ lack of formal and informal training experiences, and theme 4 included enablers to improving clinical competency. All participants agreed with the allocated time for each focus group and believed the questions were appropriate and relevant to the aim of the study. A number of suggestions were made to enable a more successful focus group discussion in the future. This study revealed perceived gaps in interdisciplinary collaboration, skills, and knowledge, including a lack of role awareness and effective management practices for clinicians. Further training, resource development and research is warranted.

Interdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning for healthcare professionals: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

AimThis study aimed to investigate the effects of interdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning on the interprofessional knowledge of healthcare professionals. BackgroundInterdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning have been employed to prepare learners to collaborate in clinical settings. This strategy could help healthcare professionals to better understand each other, develop interdisciplinary shared values and promote mutual respect between professions, while reducing errors and adverse events in hospital. A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the effects of interdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning on healthcare professionals. DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis. MethodsA systematic search was conducted of databases including Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus with full text, Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline Complete, PubMed and Web of Science from their inception to September 5, 2023. The study included randomized controlled trials that provided interdisciplinary simulation-based education to healthcare professionals. Protocol trials or studies that did not include median or mean and standard deviation were excluded. The pooled standardized mean differences of outcomes were analyzed using a DerSimonian–Laird random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2. Egger’s regression test was used to examine publication bias indicated in forest plots. ResultsTen randomized control trials with a total of 766 participants were included in the pooled analyses. Interdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning positively enhanced the interprofessional knowledge of healthcare professionals (pooled SMD = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.10–0.50; p < 0.001). Egger’s regression test results were non-significant, indicating that publication bias had little impact on the pooled SMDs. ConclusionInterdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning for health professionals appear to be significantly beneficial for increasing their interprofessional knowledge. This strategy highlights the importance of providing a well-developed scenario with relevant properties, which applies valid and rigorous instruments, to measure behavioral changes induced by interdisciplinary simulation-based teaching and learning.

Conocer la condición de salud, saber cómo aprende, trabajar interdisciplinariamente: elementos para hacer educación en salud en adultos mayores. Estudio cualitativo con profesionales en salud

IntroductionThis study aimed to identify the training needs of health professionals (HP) regarding health education based on their experience educating older adults (AM) with chronic non-communicable diseases in the Sabana Centro region of Colombia. MethodsThis is a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach with HP who work with AM with chronic non-communicable diseases in the Sabana Centro region of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted. The participants were 20 HP with a mean age of 34.3 years; 95% of the individuals interviewed were females. Once the theoretical saturation was achieved, the data were analyzed using Atlas.Ti 22. ResultsData analysis identified two main themes representing the training needs of healthcare professionals: How the AM learn, which includes communication skills, analog or technological teaching techniques, methodologies and perceived barriers, and the inclusion of family in education, and knowledge of health conditions, in which healthcare personnel self-evaluate their competencies regarding their interprofessional knowledge and skills. ConclusionTraining needs for HP on health education are focused on improving didactics, methodologies, and eliminating learning barriers for AM. In addition, they need updated evidence that improves interdisciplinarity for the comprehensive approach to AM.

Healthcare Professionals' Experiences with Functional Independence Measure (FIM) as a Structured Framework for Interprofessional Team Meetings in Danish Stroke Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Cross-Sectoral Collaborative Study.

An ethnographic and phenomenological mapping of the experiences of healthcare professionals with the functional independence measure (FIM) in stroke rehabilitation. This is a cross-sectoral qualitative study with triangulation of data from two focus group interviews, 15 individual interviews, and 11 participant observations of FIM assessments performed by six different healthcare professions in interprofessional teams. FIM assessments were performed at hospital and in a community rehabilitation centre as interprofessional meetings with a local facilitator certified in FIM. Three overarching themes, learning space, improved interprofessional collaboration, and transferability, emerged from the data. The use of FIM within the provided structures established an environment that allowed the various healthcare professionals (HCP) to learn with, about, and from each other. This is perceived as promoting interprofessional collaboration and enhancing patient-specific knowledge within the interprofessional team. The established patient-specific knowledge is specific to the individual team and is difficult to transfer intraorganisationally and across sectors. FIM was a catalyst for improved interprofessional knowledge transfer and interprofessional collaboration within the individual teams, but intraorganisational and cross-sectoral dissemination of patient-specific knowledge was limited.

Evidence-Based Guidance for Alphabet Knowledge Across Service Delivery Models

Purpose: The purposes of this alphabet knowledge (AK) tutorial are to provide (a) a description of its developmental sequence, (b) evidence-based assessment considerations, (c) evidence-based intervention guidance, and (d) a discussion of three service delivery models that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can use when providing intervention that supports AK skills. Method: The tutorial begins with a description of AK's developmental progression, followed by evidence-based assessment considerations, guidance for evidence-based intervention, and a discussion of three service delivery models. Finally, an example is provided of a preschool student with developmental language disorder (DLD) to demonstrate how an SLP could collaborate with a general education teacher to provide intervention addressing AK skills. The application of three different service delivery models is discussed: pull-out, collaborative-consultation, and classroom-based. Conclusions: SLPs should consider a variety of service delivery models, which may include both direct and indirect services, when planning intervention targeting emergent literacy skills for children with DLD. Although these models can be challenging to implement due to barriers such as time and resistance from other professionals, they have the potential to positively impact children's outcomes and educators' knowledge and skills. SLP training programs should incorporate interprofessional education experiences to provide student SLPs with the interprofessional knowledge and skills required to collaborate effectively with other educators in schools.

The OptimaMed intervention to reduce medication burden in nursing home residents with severe dementia: results from a pragmatic, controlled study

BackgroundNursing home (NH) residents with severe dementia use many medications, sometimes inappropriately within a comfort care approach. Medications should be regularly reviewed and eventually deprescribed. This pragmatic, controlled trial assessed the effect of an interprofessional knowledge exchange (KE) intervention to decrease medication load and the use of medications of questionable benefit among these residents.MethodsA 6-month intervention was performed in 4 NHs in the Quebec City area, while 3 NHs, with comparable admissions criteria, served as controls. Published lists of “mostly”, “sometimes” or “exceptionally” appropriate medications, tailored for NH residents with severe dementia, were used. The intervention included 1) information for participants’ families about medication use in severe dementia; 2) a 90-min KE session for NH nurses, pharmacists, and physicians; 3) medication reviews by NH pharmacists using the lists; 4) discussions on recommended changes with nurses and physicians. Participants’ levels of agitation and pain were evaluated using validated scales at baseline and the end of follow-up.ResultsSeven (7) NHs and 123 participants were included for study. The mean number of regular medications per participant decreased from 7.1 to 6.6 in the intervention, and from 7.7 to 5.9 in the control NHs (p-value for the difference in differences test: < 0.05). Levels of agitation decreased by 8.3% in the intervention, and by 1.4% in the control NHs (p = 0.026); pain levels decreased by 12.6% in the intervention and increased by 7% in the control NHs (p = 0.049). Proportions of participants receiving regular medications deemed only exceptionally appropriate decreased from 19 to 17% (p = 0.43) in the intervention and from 28 to 21% (p = 0.007) in the control NHs (p = 0.22). The mean numbers of regular daily antipsychotics per participant fell from 0.64 to 0.58 in the intervention and from 0.39 to 0.30 in the control NHs (p = 0.27).ConclusionsThis interprofessional intervention to reduce inappropriate medication use in NH residents with severe dementia decreased medication load in both intervention and control NHs, without important concomitant increase in agitation, but mixed effects on pain levels. Practice changes and heterogeneity within these 7 NHs, and a ceiling effect in medication optimization likely interfered with the intervention.Trial registrationThe study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: # NCT05155748 (first registration 03–10-2017).

Insights Into Learning Among Physical Therapy, Medical, and Nursing Students Following a Simulation-Based, Interprofessional Patient Safety Course.

As the need for a strong interdisciplinary approach in the delivery of healthcare services becomes increasingly vital, interprofessional education (IPE) is essential to equip healthcare professionals of the future to deliver better care. IPE encounters using simulation-based education can be a powerful tool in inculcating pre-professional students with foundational tools for successful interprofessional work. This qualitative study explores the learning that occurs during IPE encounters that include nursing, physical therapy, and medical students. The results of this work highlight how important IPE encounters are in uncovering and changing cross-disciplinary notions about knowledge, skills, role, and team contributions. Specifically, our analysis demonstrated that there are common misunderstandings about contemporary roles, knowledge, and skills of physical therapists among both nursing and medical students that can be corrected in IPE encounters. Results also demonstrated that careful planning can bolster opinions of the value of activities embedded as part of a larger course. Moreover, planning and attention to the specific educational needs of all students may prevent any group feeling that their educational needs were not fully met across all disciplines. The findings support the consideration that IPE can be an important method to instill foundational interprofessional knowledge, skills, and attitudes to promote a foundation from which to establish strong career-long interprofessional collaborations. It is important to lay foundational interprofessional skills and appreciation of the 'other' in pre-licensure curricula, but these efforts should not be limited to only pre-licensure programs and need also to be included as part of on-going professional development education, especially as healthcare education, roles, and responsibilities evolve.

Impact of a simulation-based interprofessional workshop (LINKS) on Portuguese healthcare students’ perception of roles and competencies: a quasi-experimental pilot study

There is a scarcity of simulation-based interprofessional (IP) programs in Portugal, with a notorious absence in undergraduate education. This paper describes the first step towards the development of an interprofessional education (IPE) undergraduate program, namely the implementation and preliminary assessment of the workshop LINKS – Lifting INterprofessional Knowledge through Simulation. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the educational effect of LINKS, in medical and nursing undergraduate students’ attitudes towards IP teamwork and collaborative practices, and their perception of roles and competencies within an IP team. A total of 23 final-year students participated in the workshop. Teams of three or four elements (medical and nursing students) were exposed to two critical patient management simulation scenarios. To assess the impact of the workshop on students’ perception of IP collaborative practice, two surveys (ATTITUDES and IPEC) were applied before and after the workshop. Additionally, students’ opinion/satisfaction towards the workshop and its curricular integration was explored. Students’ awareness of the relevancy of IP learning and self-competency in IP practice improved. For all subdomains and overall scores, statistically significant differences were found when comparing the pre- and post-scores, for both medical and nursing students, in both surveys. All students agreed that the workshop added educational value to their training, and recommended its integration in the formal curriculum, with a first round in the penultimate year and repeated in the last year. Considering the pre–post test results and anecdotal comments shared during the session, we may infer that this single IPE event contributed to a clearer understanding of the team dynamic and individual role definition, increased the motivation to engage in collaborative practice between physicians and nurses and potentially challenged pre-existent stereotypes of each professional group. These findings corroborate the need for sustainable simulation-based IP programs, integrated in the undergraduate curricula, promoting early clinical interactions of different professional groups. We envision that the results of this study can help to inform future curriculum planning and provide useful insights that can be used within and between Portuguese institutions to develop a common IP undergraduate program.

Medical and Dental Students' Perception of Interdisciplinary Knowledge, Teaching Content, and Interprofessional Status at a German University: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Although oral health is considered a key indicator of overall health, dentistry is still neglected in medical education at the university level. Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important tool to promote collaboration among health care providers and to reduce barriers to access in health care. In this cross-sectional study, medical and dental students at Mainz University, Germany, were surveyed regarding their perception of interdisciplinary knowledge, teaching content, interprofessional standing, and attitudes toward IPE. Spearman's rank correlation was used to identify associated statements. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to understand how sex, study progress, and prior education might influence student attitudes. In total, 426 medical students and 211 dental students were included in the study. Dental students rated their interdisciplinary knowledge higher than medical students. The relevance of IPE as assessed by the students correlated significantly with their motivation to continue IPE after graduation. Both groups of students valued the other discipline but rejected a combined graduate program. Students with prior professional training valued the synergy of medicine and dentistry more the students without prior training. Interprofessional knowledge and interest in IPE was higher among dental students. Understanding students' attitudes toward IPE is an important prerequisite for adapting university curricula to strengthen students' attitudes and motivation.

DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING AN INTERPROFESSIONAL PLIÉ TRAINING PROGRAM FOR VA NURSING HOME STAFF

Abstract In this study, we collected formative data from key stakeholders (nursing home staff and leadership, dementia care experts), developed, pilot tested, and refined a 10-week remote training program at 2 VA nursing homes with 15 interprofessional staff (e.g., recreation therapists, social workers, registered nurses). Training components included weekly livestreaming didactic sessions for staff that demonstrated PLIÉ guiding principles and themes. Weekly experiential sessions, facilitated by the lead PLIÉ instructor, included staff and residents with dementia participating together online. All training sessions were video recorded and available for review along with a training manual. Staff completed weekly surveys, post-training focus groups, and expressed high confidence using 6 of 8 PLIÉ principles; 100% rated their overall training satisfaction as “very good” or “excellent.” The remote PLIÉ training was an efficient model for staff training that leveraged interprofessional knowledge and skills. This presentation includes an experiential demonstration of PLIÉ in action.

Creating Brave Spaces in Higher Education: A Short Interprofessional Education Exchange to Support Refugees’ Psychosocial Needs

Potential traumatic experiences, prior, during and after migration, are the most common risk factors consistently associated with higher rates of mental disorders among refugees. The complex nature of refugee social and health challenges requires a holistic and comprehensive approach to achieve health equity. That is why, interprofessional education and collaboration among health and psychosocial care professionals is becoming increasingly crucial to build strong foundations for socially relevant work for refugees. Academic institutions can provide learning activities to advance students’ interprofessional knowledge and competences before they enter the workforce. This study explored higher education students’ experiences and reflections on a short-term interprofessional exchange that aimed to promote mental health and psychosocial support for refugees. Participants were higher education students from Germany, Greece, Sweden, and Spain representing the fields of psychology, occupational therapy, social work, pedagogy, medicine, and nursing. A qualitative study compromising two focus groups carried out at the end and 18 months after the interprofessional exchanges. Thematic analysis resulted in four themes: a) from curiosity to responsible action, b) my cultural humility journey, c) companion stories, and d) brave spaces and a sense of hope. Interprofessional collaboration emerged as a key strategy in protecting human rights and providing equal opportunities in psychosocial support of refugees. Findings highlight the value of short-term interprofessional exchanges for preparing higher education students in health and social care to move and be responsive in intercultural societies and contexts.

Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation for invasively ventilated critically ill patients-A focus group study.

Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation (MI-E) is used as an airway clearance intervention in primary care (home ventilation), long-term care (prolonged rehabilitation after intensive care, neuromuscular diseases, and spinal cord injury), and increasingly in acute care in intensive care units (ICU). We sought to develop in-depth understanding of factors influencing decision-making processes of health care professionals regarding initiation, escalation, de-escalation, and discontinuation of MI-E for invasively ventilated patients including perceived barriers and facilitators to use. We conducted focus groups (3 in the Netherlands; 1 with participants from four European countries) with clinicians representing the ICU interprofessional team and with variable experience of MI-E. The semi-structured interview guide was informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Two researchers independently coded data for directed content analysis using codes developed from the TDF. A purposive sample of 35 health care professionals participated. Experience varied from infrequent to several years of frequent MI-E use in different patient populations. We identified four main themes: (1) knowledge; (2) beliefs; (3) clinical decision-making; and (4) future adoption. Interprofessional knowledge and expertise of MI-E in invasively ventilated patients is limited due to minimal available evidence and adoption. Participants believed MI-E a potentially useful intervention for airway clearance and inclusion in weaning protocols when more evidence is available. This focus group study provides an overview of current practice, knowledge and expertise, and barriers and facilitators to using MI-E in mechanically ventilated patients. From these data, it is evident there is a need to develop further clinical expertise and evidence of efficacy to further understand the role of MI-E as an airway clearance technique for ventilated patients.

Practice observation visit for interprofessional training in primary care

Primary care (PC) is the foundation of healthcare, and a larger, more interprofessional (IP) workforce is needed to provide integrated whole-person care to all. Our innovative IP Primary Care Course (PCC), an elective classroom course, enrolled 84 learners over three years from dentistry, medicine, nursing, nurse practitioners, pharmacy, physician assistants, public health, and social work. The course centerpiece is the Practice Observation Visit (POV), as a low-cost, adaptable, IP exercise applicable to all health professions at all levels of training. The objective is to demonstrate the major themes of PC: first contact care, continuity of care, comprehensive care, variety of clinical work, variety of patients, variety of clinical content, complexity, family context, and collaborative IP team practice. Learners spend one half-day shadowing a PC clinician, observing day-to-day practice, patients, problems, and teamwork. Patient Logs record age, sex, new/established status, and number of problems. Problem Logs record clinical problems, acute/chronic care, preventive service, or administrative tasks. Data are aggregated across students and presented for discussion and reflection. Students write personal reflections and comment on other students' reflections. Assessment of the POV with student observation logs and comments documented achievement of all objectives. The POV was the course highlight for 99% (70/71) of students; 76% (54/71) rated it Very High Value and 23% (16/71) High Value. Three evaluation studies demonstrate effectiveness. A. Student evaluations showed 99% rated IP PCC high value, 93% recommended it to others, 41% advocated it be required for all students, 56% reported it recruited them to plan PC careers. B. Before-and-after 5-year follow-up study showed sustained increases in PC and IP knowledge, attitudes, and practice. C. Controlled waitlist study compared PCC to similar waitlist students and confirmed the 5-year follow-up results. More PCC students reported working in PC (74% vs. 27%), direct patient care PC (48% vs.19%), and underserved communities (74% vs. 46%). The low-resource, high-impact POV can be adapted early, easily, and universally across health professions with documented impact upon trainees, knowledge, attitudes, and careers.

Legal Conditions in the Field of Digital Assets and Feasibility Analysis of the Application of Blockchain Technology: the Support and Limitations of the Field in the Macro Background

With the development of blockchain technology and digital assets, the problem pages of digital assets at the legal level are becoming more and more prominent. This article will start with smart contracts and combine the case of Shenzhen Ethereum to analyze the legal issues based on blockchain technology and digital assets. The current status of conservation and its possible future development directions are analyzed. This article will specifically discuss the issue of contract law regulation of smart contracts from the perspective of legal system construction, as well as the compatibility between smart contracts and current contract law. Finally, the following conclusions are drawn: Firstly, consciously accepting the law needs to adapt to social changes and accepting the fact that the law needs to be adjusted. Secondly, at the operational level, the use of technology must comply with. Thirdly, at the research level, relevant legal research must be done, and legal scholars must have inter-professional knowledge and capabilities.

Characteristics and levers in the business model of hospital pharmacies in German-speaking countries

ABSTRACT Background The pharmaceutical supply in hospitals in German-speaking countries shows inadequate structural and procedural characteristics with regard to the quality of supply and security of supply. The question arises: How should a business model be designed to control and optimize the internal pharmaceutical supply in hospitals in German-speaking countries? Method With an adapted Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), pharmaceutical supply in hospitals in German-speaking countries is examined by means of two online surveys (2017, 2021) among managers of hospital pharmacies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland (2017: N = 412; n = 61, rr = 14.8%; 2021: N = 332, n = 44, rr = 13.3%). Results In addition to cross-sector trends in procurement and logistics, the communication and interaction among members of the health professions and the pharmacy and the associated relationship of trust are decisive for the security of supply and the quality of patient care. Targeted communication, digitization and performance measurement are relevant levers for a targeted development and optimization of pharmaceutical supply in hospitals. Conclusions The business model of the hospital pharmacy must be designed and applied conceptually and strategically. In addition to innovative logistics tools, also includes special communication approaches and interprofessional knowledge management.

The impact of an integrated, interprofessional knowledge translation intervention on access to inpatient rehabilitation for persons with cognitive impairment.

Stroke rehabilitation teams' skills and knowledge in treating persons with cognitive impairment (CI) contribute to their reduced access to inpatient rehabilitation. This study examined stroke inpatient rehabilitation referral acceptance rates for persons with CI before and after the implementation of a multi-faceted integrated knowledge translation (KT) intervention aimed at improving clinicians' skills in a cognitive-strategy based approach, Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP), CO-OP KT. CO-OP KT was implemented at five inpatient rehabilitation centres, using an interrupted time series design and data from an electronic referral and database system called E-Stroke. CO-OP KT included a 2-day workshop, 4 months of implementation support, health system support, and a sustainability plan. A mixed effects model was used to model monthly acceptance rates for 12 months prior to the intervention and 6 months post. The dataset was comprised of 2604 pre-intervention referrals and 1354 post. In the mixed effects model, those with CI had a lower pre-intervention acceptance rate than those without. Post-intervention the model showed the acceptance rate for those with CI increased by 8.6% (p = 0.02), whereas those with no CI showed a non-significant increase of less than 1%. Proportionally more persons with CI gained access to inpatient stroke rehabilitation following an integrated KT intervention.

A qualitative systematic review and enlightenment of teaching models and evaluation in the general education of epidemiology in China and abroad

Objective: This study aims to systematically sort out the effectiveness evaluation of the general education teaching models in epidemiology at home and abroad and provide a reference for the development and reform of epidemiology education. Methods: A systematic search of English databases such as PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science and Chinese databases such as CNKI, Sinomed, Wanfang, etc., were used to screen out the literature on different general teaching models of education in epidemiology. Each literature's teaching effect will be summarized and evaluated to conduct a systematic qualitative review in the narrative integration method, Results: A total of 45 articles (28 in Chinese and 17 in English) were included in this study, involving 14 teaching models, including mixed teaching models, PBL (problem-based learning), project designing models, and CBL (case-based learning) and other teaching models. Except for some teaching models such as project design, network platform, and flipped classroom model, the teaching effect of other innovative models is better than that of the traditional model. The distribution of teaching models was different in Chinese and foreign literature. Foreign teaching models were diverse, mainly concentrated in mixed teaching models and software/network platform learning. Domestic teaching models were relatively fixed. The mixed teaching model and PBL model were the most widely used in China, and there were fewer comparative studies between different teaching models than in foreign countries. Conclusion: General education in epidemiology is still in the early exploration stage. Compared with the traditional lecture model, the effect of various innovative teaching models has been improved. According to teaching objectives and student characteristics, we encourage extensive use of different teaching strategies, combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications and integrating epidemiological knowledge with inter-professional knowledge. Thus, students who can apply what they learn are becoming interdisciplinary talents our society needs.

New interprofessional health sciences precepting legislation provides opportunity to assess student and preceptor knowledge, experience, and confidence

Recent passage of a bill in Washington State permits licensed health professionals to serve as interprofessional preceptors for students in volunteer service settings where the knowledge and skills being utilized fall under the scope of practice of both the preceptors and students involved. Passage of the bill was made possible through strong advocacy efforts among an interprofessional team of students. The new law allows for increased interprofessional service-learning opportunities for both students and preceptors. The COVID-19 pandemic brought abrupt changes to in-person service learning for health sciences students. Yet, when an urgent need to provide COVID-19 testing arose, the new law made it possible for volunteer preceptors (n = 7) from medicine and nursing to supervise pharmacy students (n = 12) who provided COVID-19 testing at a mobile community clinic. Following the multi-day testing event, preceptors and students completed an electronic survey, documenting positive changes in interprofessional knowledge, skills, experience, and attitudes. • New law allows precepting across health professions in service-learning settings. • Preceptors and students benefit from interprofessional service-learning opportunities. • Interprofessional precepting expands non-pharmacist preceptor understanding of pharmacy student training and pharmacist scope of practice.

Interprofessional Treatment of Malnutrition and Sarcopenia by Dietitians and Physiotherapists: Exploring Attitudes, Interprofessional Identity, Facilitators, Barriers, and Occurrence.

PurposeMalnutrition and sarcopenia require dietetic and physiotherapy interventions. In this study, we aimed to compare interprofessional identity of dietitians and physiotherapists, as well as attitudes towards, facilitators and barriers for, and occurrence of interprofessional treatment of malnutrition and sarcopenia by both professions.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was distributed from December 4, 2021 until January 31, 2022 through an international online network platform for professionals (LinkedIn). Practitioners working as dietitian or physiotherapist in a healthcare setting were eligible for participation. Outcome measures concerned perceptions regarding shared problem domains, interprofessional treatment, attitudes towards interprofessional treatment, interprofessional identity, facilitators, and barriers. A Chi2-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and Spearman’s Rho correlation were calculated.ResultsData from 53 physiotherapists and 48 dietitians were included. Malnutrition is considered a shared problem domain by both professions (U = 1248.000; p = 0.858). While sarcopenia is treated by both professions (U = 1260.000; p = 0.927), physiotherapists consider sarcopenia more often a shared problem domain compared to dietitians (U = 1003.000; p = 0.044). Attitudes towards interprofessional treatment were mostly positive (73%, n = 35 and 87%, n = 46 respectively). Interprofessional identity of dietitians was lower compared to physiotherapists (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.3 respectively; U = 875.000, p = 0.007). This was explained by lower interprofessional belonging (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.8 respectively; U = 771.000, p < 0.001) and lower interprofessional commitment (median = 4.0 versus median = 4.3 respectively; U = 942.500, p = 0.023). Interprofessional identity was correlated with efficient means of communication (r = 0.30, p = 0.003) and bureaucracy (r = −0.21, p = 0.034). Other barriers reported included available time, financial compensation, interprofessional knowledge, and obtaining extra care. Most reported facilitators concerned role clarity, clarity of expertise, and willingness of others to collaborate.ConclusionDietitians and physiotherapists have different interprofessional identities, but both are advocates of interprofessional treatment. Both professions mostly treat malnutrition and sarcopenia individually and have different perceptions regarding sarcopenia as shared problem domain. Facilitators were mainly related to clarity and commitment while barriers were mainly related to resources.