Date Presented 04/04/2025
Although interprofessional teams often work with clients in home-based care, students often do not receive training on working in the home environment and interprofessional collaboration in home-based care.
Primary Author and Speaker: Karen Jacobs
Contributing Authors: Craig Slater, Jordana Muroff, Bronwyn Keefe
PURPOSE: While interprofessional teams often work with clients in home-based care, students often do not receive training on working in the home environment, and interprofessional collaboration in home-based care. An immersive interprofessional training was created to address this gap.
DESIGN: In April 2024, 33 students in social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutrition, and speech language pathology programs participated in an interprofessional home-based assessment training. The training incorporated six asynchronous online modules covering: preparing for home visits; interprofessional collaboration; communication; assessment tools; and cultural, ethical and legal aspects. In addition to other instructional design elements (e.g., video simulations), the modules integrated 3D interactive technology where learners interacted in a virtual home environment.
METHOD: Students then participated in a live 90-minute session, either in-person (n = 14) or over Zoom (n = 19). Students worked in interprofessional teams on a case study where they shared professional perspectives and identified opportunities for collaboration. At the end of each module, students completed a retrospective pre-/post- assessment of their knowledge related to the module learning objectives. At the end of the live session, students completed the 10-item Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education Revised (SPICE-R). Students also completed two Likert-type questions: 1) how helpful the training was learning about the home setting, and 2) how likely they are to pursue future employment in-home care. Results; Preliminary analyses indicate that: students’ knowledge related to the learning objectives increased; students developed positive perceptions of IPE and collaborative practice.
CONCLUSION: Results indicate the training’s effectiveness in enhancing knowledge about home-based assessment, and influence on future career choices.
References
Montano, A. R., Cornell, P. Y., & Gravenstein, S. (2023). Barriers and facilitators to interprofessional collaborative practice for community-dwelling older adults: An integrative review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(9-10), 1534–1548.
Sekanina, U., Tetzlaff, B., Mazur, A., Huckle, T., Kühn, A., Dano, R., ... & Müller, C. (2024). Interprofessional collaboration in the home care setting: perspectives of people receiving home care, relatives, nurses, general practitioners, and therapists—results of a qualitative analysis. BMC Primary Care, 25(1), 1–14.
Slater, C., Keefe, B., and Jacobs, K. (2023). Impact of the Interprofessional Leadership in Healthcare Certificate on health professionals’ collaboration and leadership abilities. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2023.100658
