Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration Research Articles

Ten steps to transform ideas into product innovations: An interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and engineering.

To describe the development process of a device from the conception of the idea to the first contact with the commercial environment, and to demonstrate its practical application through an interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and engineering for the design of a protective device for peripheral venous catheters. Nurses are key agents for identifying unresolved needs or problems related to nursing care. To address these needs, creative ideation processes are often triggered among nurses to seek technological answers to these challenges. The ten steps to develop a device are presented: (1) detecting an unsatisfied clinical need; (2) searching for preexisting marketed products; (3) searching for patents; (4) maintaining confidentiality throughout the process; (5) obtaining institutional support; (6) forming a multidisciplinary team; (7) developing the idea; (8) applying for a patent; (9) building the prototype; (10) marketing the device. This methodology was applied to design a protective device for peripheral venous catheters in hospitalized patients. Nurses can play a key role in the promotion of healthcare innovation in their field to improve procedures, thanks to their direct contact with patients, and by providing their insight on devices that can enhance patient care. The successful interdisciplinary collaboration between nurses and engineers can provide a response to relevant clinical problems such as the manipulation or removal of peripheral venous catheters. A hospital policy is required to encourage the participation of nurses in innovative actions. Furthermore, it is important to support nurse leaders who can play a pivotal role in incorporating creativity into work environments and empowering other nurses to innovatively address clinical issues. This article describes the process for developing a health device.

An example of conducting participatory action research within the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care: Developing, evaluating, and implementing a reablement training programme

Demand for long-term care is rising, because of the aging of the population and the increase in chronic and degenerative diseases. Both community and institutional care services are facing challenges, not only caused by aggregated care needs but also through technological and related health care innovations. At the same time, the number of well-trained staff is decreasing, partly due to a negative image of care provision within the field of geriatrics. Innovations that address the changing needs and demands of the future are highly warranted and there is a strong need to develop and implement evidence-based practice and technology. Unfortunately, it may take on average up to 17 years before scientific knowledge is adopted in daily practice, and there is not a strong tradition of scientific research in long-term care. The result is that older people and their families, health care professionals, policy makers, and educators do not benefit sufficiently from new advancements and best available evidence.
 In this oral paper a model for a sustainable and successful interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, care providers, and educators in long-term care will be presented: the “Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care” by Maastricht University in the Netherlands. It is a structural collaboration between academia, educational institutions, long-term care providers and clients. It covers approximately 185 long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes, assisted and group living facilities) as well as professional home care, and includes about 50,000 clients and more than 27,000 staff. Their mission is to contribute with scientific research to improving i) quality of life of older people and their families; ii) quality of care and iii) quality of work of those working in long-term care. Key working mechanisms are the Linking Pins and interdisciplinary partnership using a team science approach, with great scientific and societal impact. For 25 years this structural collaboration has served as an infrastructure that drives scientific research in long-term care in co-creation with end-users, including older people and their relatives, health care professionals, policy makers and educators. More recently, the model of the living lab is replicated in other countries such as the UK, Belgium, Germany and Austria.
 After a brief description of the living lab, the collaboration between academia, educational institutions, long-term care providers and clients will be illustrated by introducing the “Stay Active at Home” study. In this study a reablement training programme for home care staff is developed, evaluated and implemented. The programme aims to teach home care staff how to stimulate clients’ autonomy and participation in meaningful daily activities. Finally, the symposium will end with suggestions how to replicate the model of the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-term Care in other places.

Perspectives of General Practitioners on signaling and diagnosing dementia

AbstractBackgroundAlthough a timely diagnosis of dementia is beneficial for patients, their relatives, and society, people with dementia often remain undiagnosed or receive a diagnosis at a relatively late stage (Lang 2017). General practitioners (GPs) have a prominent role in the detection of dementia, yet GPs experience several barriers in diagnosing dementia in primary care (Koch 2010). This study aims to explore the experiences and perspectives of GPs in diagnosing dementia in primary care.MethodA qualitative study was conducted consisting of semi‐structured interviews with 10 Dutch GPs purposively selected using maximum variation sampling. The study was an initiative of Alzheimer Center Groningen as part of ABOARD (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer’s Disease). Overall topics included: experiences in signaling dementia; thoughts about the decision to wait in diagnosing dementia, to perform diagnostics, or to refer to a medical specialist for diagnosing dementia; and the needs of GPs in the diagnostic process of dementia. Interview transcripts were analyzed in multiple rounds by a multidisciplinary research team using thematic analysis with a phenomenological approach.ResultOverarching themes were ‘initiation of the diagnostic trajectory’, ‘timing of diagnosis’, ‘relevance of a formal diagnosis’, ‘division of roles and responsibilities, ‘patient denial’, ‘patient‐physician relationship’, ‘crisis’, and ‘arranging care after diagnosis’. Key findings within the ‘initiation of the diagnostic trajectory’ theme were that observations from people around patients (family, community nurse, practice nurse, pharmacist, or medical specialist) were often signals for GPs to start a conversation about dementia and diagnostic possibilities. The diagnostic trajectory rarely started with a request for help from the patient. Patient denial was described as a major obstacle in diagnosing dementia and arranging appropriate care subsequently. A proactive practice policy to detect and monitor cognitive impairment was a key facilitator to achieve a timely diagnosis and prevent crises in dementia. For example, GPs favored regular home visits by a practice nurse and low‐threshold cognitive examination; a long‐term physician‐patient relationship; and successful interdisciplinary collaboration with local care providers, especially consultation of an elderly care physician.ConclusionPatient denial and surrounding people are important barriers and facilitators, respectively, to the diagnostic process of dementia.

Fostering an Interdisciplinary Campus Community: Faculty Hiring Committee-Work as Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In modern higher education, nurturing successful interdisciplinary collaboration is both an institutional priority and a grand organizational and cultural challenge. Recent scholarship describes the many and varied challenges inherent in the enactment of interdisciplinarity; it also explores how these challenges can be mitigated to spur successful interdisciplinary engagement. While much attention has been focused on interdisciplinary scholarship and pedagogy, might interdisciplinary service collaborations also play a role? This qualitative case study probes a particular type of interdisciplinary collaboration—a cross-disciplinary committee convened to hire interdisciplinary faculty members. Using interview and observational data to uncover the lived experiences of committee members across campus at one U.S.-based R1 institution, this study explores service-work as a potential site of positive experience and successful interdisciplinary collaboration. Illuminated by the Shared Cognitive-Emotional-Interactive (SCEI) platform for interdisciplinary research collaboration by Boix Mansilla et al. (2016), findings reveal myriad positive outcomes tied to faculty’s service participation, probe the multifaceted reasons that faculty choose to participate, and explore how they experience this work. Analysis also uncovers limited cognitive yet significant emotional and interactive markers of and factors that facilitate a successful interdisciplinary collaborative process. Evidence of these markers and factors serves to “reframe” interdisciplinary service as an instance of successful interdisciplinary collaboration, a site of faculty learning and a context that fosters campus connections among faculty. In uncovering these benefits of interdisciplinary collaborative service, this work suggests ways in which it may serve as a missing link to build and strengthen an interdisciplinary campus community.

A successful interdisciplinary collaboration for the management of pneumoperitoneum and pericardial effusion in a premature newborn

Objectives. Percutaneously central catheters are typically used in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to provide parenteral nutrition and drug therapy administration. Their use is associated with specific complications: occlusions, infections, thrombosis, rupture, and migration, including rare life-threatening conditions such as pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. Material and methods. We present the case of a patient hospitalized in the Neonatology Department of “Sf. Andrei” County Clinical Emergency Hospital of Constanta, diagnosed with cardiac tamponade at 18 days of life. Outcomes. Premature male newborn, gestational age (GA) of 33 weeks, birth weight (BW) 2380 g, Apgar score 5/7, issuing from pregnancy without prenatal care, admitted in NICU with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) respiratory support. He required intensive care during the neonatal period and presented with sudden cardiac instability 18 days after the insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PIC-Line). The echocardiography demonstrated severe pericardial effusion with evidence of cardiac tamponade. Successful urgent subxiphoid pericardiocentesis was performed. Totally 20 ml of fluid was collected, consistent with the composition of the hyperosmolar solution infused. Conclusions. Despite the fact that it is a rare complication, cardiac tamponade should be considered in any newborn with a PIC-Line who presents with sudden suggestive deterioration (cardiorespiratory instability, bradycardia, cyanosis and metabolic acidosis), which does not respond to resuscitation maneuvers, when lines are considered to be placed correctly. Implementing a modern algorithm, who is easy to learn and quick to perform, with the help of ultrasonography, represents the key of success for detecting urgent neonatal complications leading to sudden deterioration.

Teaching Intellectual Humility Is Essential in Preparing Collaborative Future Pharmacists

Interprofessional teams contribute significantly to patient care and safety. However, barriers to effective interdisciplinary collaboration have been identified, such as power dynamics and mistrust among team members, contrasting ideologies, interests and levels of engagement of clinicians, and disciplinary territoriality, which could negatively impact patient care. Teaching current health professional students behaviors and personal values that promote collaboration is critical in equipping them to function effectively in an interdisciplinary care setting. In this commentary, we put forward the idea that teaching intellectual humility is important in preparing collaborative future pharmacists. The core dimensions of intellectual humility, namely, open-mindedness, intellectual modesty, engagement, and corrigibility are important behaviors that could address the above-mentioned barriers, and promote successful interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore, we suggest strategies through which student pharmacists could be taught intellectual humility, mainly within the interprofessional education setting.

Interaction of landscape space and indoors in architecture of the open-air concert hall “Mitava”

In the search for balancing factors in the art of environmental design between architecture, landscape architecture, and interiors needed to improve interdisciplinary collaborative planning and enhance the psycho-emotional quality of the environment, the study of landscape space-indoor interaction through comparative analysis and inductive reference is continued. On the Latvian scale, the new, 21st-century technological capabilities in the design and production of wooden structures in the architecture of the open air concert hall “Mītava”, constructed in 2019 on Pasta Island. The importance of the structure on the Baltic scale is emphasized by the unique design, which resembles a shell washed on the bank of the Lielupe River, large (<60m) arched timber continuous roof structures and high acoustic characteristics. Original building structures have opened up new opportunities for interaction between landscape space and indoor space, creating a broad, spatial synthesis. The realization of an artistically stylistic concept in the open-air concert hall “Mītava”, which is subordinated to the existing landscape space and supplemented with appropriate greenery, is considered a valuable contribution to the urban environment. The specific case study analyzed in detail underlines the importance of successful interdisciplinary collaboration in the harmonious interaction between landscape space and indoor.

Barriers and levers driving change in a STEM science subject in the Australian higher education sector: a focused study

ABSTRACT Background This study explored the challenges around enacting change in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject at an Australian higher education institution and examined key elements required to ensure change. Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine the barriers and levers driving change during the collaboration of discipline experts, in both science and education disciplines and professional staff across education and science faculties to change the delivery of an existing subject within a science faculty, from traditional lectures to an active learning approach. Sample: Participants from the education faculty and science faculty formed the participant interview pool of five academics for this study. Design and Methods Research design of semi-structured interviews of participants was conducted to answer the research questions. Instruments were used to test the research questions, such as factors to facilitate and support change to teaching a science subject and the elements required for successful interdisciplinary collaboration for bringing about change to the teaching of a science subject. Thematic analyses were conducted on the data responses to answer the research questions. Results The findings revealed that participants found that factors such as time, resources, understanding of and commitment to the proposed change represented potential barriers to change in the subject. The existence of multiple, time-sensitive champions, additional human resources and a collaborative network of participants, however, were identified as some of the key elements that supported enacting changes to a science subject. Conclusions The findings of the study provide insights into interdisciplinary collaborations enacting changes to the teaching of a science subject. For instance, the need for establishment of a dynamic network of participants engendered with multiple interdisciplinary expertise, as well as the need for a change champion and implementation champion, throughout the curriculum re-design, planning and implementation phases of the change.

Defining interdisciplinary collaboration based on high school teachers\u2019 beliefs and practices of STEM integration using a complex designed system

BackgroundTeachers’ beliefs play an important role in how teachers think about how students learn, and how content should be organized and taught. Integrated STEM is pushing the boundaries of some of the traditional assumptions in education—disciplined-based courses, courses taught independently by teachers, standards and content-driven, and no collaborative planning time for teachers. Six teachers, located in two high schools, participated in a year-long program to develop interdisciplinary collaboration to implement integrated STEM learning in their courses. A qualitative instrumental case study of the two teams of teachers was conducted to gain insights and understandings of the teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices of STEM integration through interdisciplinary approaches in a complex system (i.e., hydroponics).ResultsThemes regarding features, beliefs and practices, and challenges emerged from cross-case analysis of the teachers’ stories, which resulted in two interdisciplinary collaboration models, multi-classroom and extracurricular activity, from each of the teams at each of the two high schools. Multi-classroom and extracurricular activity models had some resemblances, but also had differences. Both cases had the same goals to use real-world problems to help students see STEM connections, learn STEM knowledge and skills, and apply STEM knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems.ConclusionsBased on teachers’ beliefs and their interdisciplinary STEM collaboration practices, three components were identified. Team size, teaching goal, and collaboration structure highly affect a successful interdisciplinary STEM collaboration model in high school settings. The study also contributes to expend the concept of a continuum of STEM approaches to curriculum integration, disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary (Vasquez, Sneider, & Comer, STEM lesson essentials: Integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 2013), and provides frameworks for structuring a successful interdisciplinary collaboration model in high school settings.

Interdisciplinary Education: The Advanced Science Research Center.

Interdisciplinary Education: The Advanced Science Research Center.

BPMN+I to support decision making in innovation management for automated production systems including technological, multi team and organizational aspects

Abstract A joined interdisciplinary approach from systems engineering, organizational sociology and psychology is introduced using an enriched Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN+I) based modeling approach to support decision making on a management level for both mid-term decisions such as in-/outsourcing and short-term decisions such as fixing a weakness on site during start-up of a plant abroad or involving the design offices. This approach focusses on the actual collaboration between interdisciplinary teams within an organizational context by enriching BPMN with checklists applicable to all interfaces along the projects’ workflow. Our contribution aims at supporting innovation management for automated Production Systems which depends on successful interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care: A Sustainable Model for Translational Research Improving Quality of Life, Quality of Care and Quality of Work

There is a strong need in long-term care for scientific research, so older people and their families, health care professionals, policy makers, and educators can benefit from new advancements and best available evidence in every day care practice. This paper presents the model of a sustainable and successful interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, care providers and educators in long-term care: the “Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care” by Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Its mission is to contribute with scientific research to improving i) quality of life of older people and their families; ii) quality of care and iii) quality of work of those working in long-term care. Key working mechanisms are the Linking Pins and interdisciplinary partnership using a team science approach, with great scientific and societal impact. A blueprint for the model is discussed, describing its business model and challenges in getting the model operational and sustainable are discussed.

Get Started or Unstuck: Four Elements of Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Extension

Minnesota Extension needs to increase interdisciplinary collaboration across the organization to remain successful. Through interviews with associate deans and Extension educators, we investigated elements of existing interdisciplinary collaboration and recommended ways to approach such collaborations. Common themes identified were (a) the need to identify an issue requiring collaboration, (b) the need to define success, (c) the need to clarify expectations, and (d) the need to determine resources. Our findings can help Extension professionals get started, or unstuck, in the pursuit of successful interdisciplinary collaborations.

Successful Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Supporting Science Teachers with a Systematic, Ongoing, Intentional Collaboration Between University Engineering and Science Teacher Education Faculty

ABSTRACTThis article reports on a modified faculty learning community (FLC) composed of university faculty from science education and a variety of engineering disciplines. This research investigated the efficacy of an intentional, long-term, ongoing, interdisciplinary collaboration to benefit the development of science teacher education, including engineering, across the kindergarten to college spectrum (K–16). The successful implementation of the modified FLC, and systematic structure provided by project leadership, led to beneficial results for both education and engineering faculty members. A multiple case study approach was used to evaluate faculty motivation to participate in an interdisciplinary FLC; whether FLC participation contributed to the professional growth and was able to overcome any challenges for faculty participants; which characteristics of FLCs contributed to project success and mitigated any challenges; and if effective collaboration and overcoming challenges was supported by the overall structure of the modified FLC. Findings indicated that faculty experienced valuable professional growth; with only a minor exception, challenges within groups were able to largely be addressed and did not hinder group progress; and that FLC project leadership structure helped guide groups to successful outcomes. Findings conclude with benefits and advice for others on how to establish successful structured interdisciplinary collaborations and mitigate challenges encountered. Ultimately, FLC projects from this study contributed to the support of K–12 teachers in successfully using the Next Generation Science Standards, including the engineering design component, within their classrooms.

The Role of Interdisciplinary Faculty in Nursing Education: A National Survey.

The role of interdisciplinary faculty in schools and colleges of nursing has evolved over time. Historically, integration of interdisciplinary faculty into nursing education was as experts in non-nursing content and to fill a gap created by the lack of doctorally prepared nurses. In the 1980s, Lenz and Morton surveyed Departments, Schools and Colleges of Nursing to explore the role of interdisciplinary faculty in nursing education. Our study adapted Lenz and Morton's work to examine new trends in faculty composition, while also considering the evolution in nursing education, including the integration of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) prepared faculty. Differences in enrollments, programs offered, and number of faculty and faculty composition were observed between 1988 and 2017. In 1988 the most common disciplines represented were nutrition, education and psychology, while in 2017 the most common disciplines were pharmacology, statistics and biological sciences. The current study shows a decrease of 15% in interdisciplinary faculty educating nursing students, although this finding may be related to differences in sampling techniques. Integration of interdisciplinary faculty has the potential to enrich nursing education by bringing in a depth of specialized knowledge from other disciplines. Further faculty role-modeling successful interdisciplinary collaboration is another way to prepare nurses for team-based patient care which is an imperative skill in today's health care arena.

How to create a frame for collaboration between chefs and scientists – Business as unusual at Nordic Food Lab

A frame for successful interdisciplinary collaboration between chefs and scientists is suggested based on the author's experience and background. The author is former director of the now closed Nordic Food Lab. The learning potentials for both parties in these types of collaborations are elaborated.

Identifying the Underlying Assumptions of an Interdisciplinary Collaboration on Curriculum Development

This reflective analysis focuses on a successful interdisciplinary collaboration between two academics from two different areas of expertise, chemistry and education, who worked together on a curriculum development project. The authors identify three underlying assumptions integral to their successful partnership (being ready for learning, having a commitment to collaborative learning, and seeing each other as peers) and state that their partnership led to new ways of knowing and learning. This article is framed within the field of adult learning and development, and views the authors as learners, thus offering insights into understanding the value of interdisciplinary research partnerships in higher education.

CitySection

Planning education has engaged little with the question of how to educate our students regarding interdisciplinary inquiry. This article proposes pedagogy to educate planners and environmental designers to engage multidisciplinary theory and methods to perform interdisciplinary environmental research, synthesis, and interpretation. Experiential and situated learning theories guide a course design where students first perform a series of disciplinary inquiries, followed by collaborative interdisciplinary inquiries, along an urban research transect. Assessment of this pedagogy finds that (1) interdisciplinary understanding can successfully grow from disciplinary understanding and (2) “collaboration in parallel” can lead to successful interdisciplinary collaboration.

Working together at the interface of physics and biology

Good communication, whether it is between quorum-sensing bacteria or the different scientists studying those critters, is the key to a successful interdisciplinary collaboration, Bonnie Bassler and Ned Wingreen provide a personal perspective on working at the interface between the physical and biological sciences.

La santé mentale jeunesse : un domaine à la croisée des chemins

The importance of children and youth mental health is increasingly recognized. This rapidly developing field cannot be conceptualized as an extension of adult services to a younger age group and its developmental and organizational specificities are the object of debate. Reviewing recent literature in this domain and some preliminary information about the Quebec Mental Health Plan implementation, this paper addresses some of the questions which structure this debate in Quebec.Quebec mental health plan has put at the forefront collaboration among disciplines and partnership among institutions. In spite of having produced significant improvement in the field, discontinuities in services, which interfere with an ecosystemic model of care, persist. Recent studies suggest that the organisational climate which surrounds youth mental health services has a direct impact on the quality of services and on youth health outcomes. A flexible management structure, which engages clinicians and health workers, favors empowerment, minimizes work stress and facilitates partnership, is needed to foster successful interdisciplinary and intersectorial collaboration. This collaboration is the cornerstone of youth mental health services.