Greater commitment to the domestic violence training is required

Domestic violence (DV) is a major public health problem with high health and social costs. A solution to this multi-faceted problem requires that various help providers work together in an effective and optimal manner when dealing with different parties of DV.

The objective of this research and development project (2008–2013) by Leppakoski and colleagues was to improve the preparedness of the social and healthcare professionals to manage DV. They recently focused on the evaluation of interprofessional education (IPE) to provide knowledge and skills for identifying and intervening in DV and to improve collaboration among social and health care professionals and other help providers at the local and regional level. The evaluation data were carried out with an internal evaluation. The evaluation data were collected from the participants orally and in the written form.

The participants were satisfied with the content of the IPE programme itself and the teaching methods used. Participation in the training sessions could have been more active. Moreover, some of the people who had enrolled for the trainings could not attend all of them.

Overall, the study indicated IPE is a valuable way to develop intervening in DV. However, greater commitment to the training is required from not only the participants and their superiors but also from trustees.


Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.955913

Nurse–physician collaboration: A meta-analytical investigation of survey scores

This meta-analysis by Sollami and colleagues investigated differences between nurses and physicians in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) ratings. Fifty-one surveys, representing a total of 18 782 professionals and students (13 132 nurses and nursing students, and 5650 physicians and medical students), were meta-analyzed, considering several moderating variables.

Overall, nurses scored higher on IPC than physicians. Sensitivity analysis revealed that while physicians perceived more existing collaboration than nurses, nurses had a more positive attitude toward collaboration than physicians. Moreover, IPC ratings of nursing and medical students did not differ from those of practitioners. Finally, it appeared that interprofessional education interventions were able to reduce the difference in IPC between nurses and physicians.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.955912

Using an interprofessional competency framework to examine collaborative practice

Healthcare organisations are starting to implement collaborative practice to increase the quality of patient care. However, operationalising and measuring progress towards collaborative practice has proven to be difficult. Various interprofessional competency frameworks have been developed that outline essential collaborative practice competencies for healthcare providers. If these competencies were enacted to their fullest, collaborative practice would be at its best.

In this study, Hepp and colleagues have examined collaborative practice in six acute care units across Alberta using the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) competency framework (CIHC, 2010). The framework entails the six competencies of patient-centred care, communication, role clarification, conflict resolution, team functioning and collaborative leadership (CIHC, 2010). A secondary analysis of interviews was conducted with 113 healthcare providers from different professions, which were conducted as part of a quality improvement study. 

The study found positive examples of communication and patient-centred care supported by unit structures and processes (e.g. rapid rounds and collaborative plan of care). Some gaps in collaborative practice were found for role clarification and collaborative leadership. Conflict resolution and team functioning were not well operationalised on these units. Strategies were presented to enhance each competency domain in order to fully enact collaborative practice. Using the CIHC competency framework to examine collaborative practice was useful for identifying strength and areas needing improvement.


Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.955910

Interprofessional collaborative patient-centred care: a critical exploration of two related discourses

There has been sustained international interest from health care policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in developing interprofessional approaches to delivering patient-centred care.

Ann Fox and Scott Reeves offer a critical exploration of a selection of professional discourses related to these practice paradigms, including interprofessional collaboration, patient-centred care, and the combination of the two. They argue that for some groups of patients, inequalities between different health and social care professions and between professionals and patients challenge the successful realization of the positive aims associated with these discourses. Specifically, they argue that interprofessional and professional–patient hierarchies raise a number of key questions about the nature of professions, their relationships with one another as well as their relationship with patients. The authors explore how the focus on interprofessional collaboration and patient-centred care have the potential to reinforce a patient compliance model by shifting responsibility to patients to do the “right thing” and by extending the reach of medical power across other groups of professionals.

The broader goal of this exploration was to stimulate debate that leads to enhanced practice opportunities for health professionals and improved care for patients.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.954284

Attaining interprofessional competencies through a student interprofessional fellowship program

For students interested in enriching their interprofessional competencies beyond those required and offered by their academic programs, an elective interprofessional education fellowship can serve that need.

Amy Blue and colleagues designed a fellowship for students linking a conceptual framework grounded in adult learning principles. During the fellowship, students progress through three levels of learning as they acquire, apply, and demonstrate interprofessional collaborative knowledge and skills; fellowship activities are self-directed.

A content analysis of students' fellowship summary reports sought to determine the effectiveness of the fellowship as a learning experience to acquire interprofessional collaborative competences. Results indicated that students most consistently report competencies associated with acquisition of values and ethics for interprofessional practice, roles/responsibilities, and teams/teamwork; interprofessional communication was implied. All students expressed commitment to interprofessional collaborative behavior when in practice.

Based on the results from this study, this fellowship structure may serve as a model for other institutions to adapt and implement for best practice and best fit.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.954283

Continuous interprofessional coordination in perioperative work: An exploratory study

Coordination of perioperative work is challenging. Advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities have not been followed by similar advancements in the ability to coordinate care. 

A recent study by Lillebo and Faxvaag explored the nature of continuous coordination as practiced by perioperative staff in order to coordinate their own activities with respect to those of their colleagues. In-depth interviews (n = 14), and combined observations and focused interviews (n = 31) with perioperative staff (physicians, nurses, technicians, and cleaners), were conducted at a major university hospital in Norway. Data were analysed qualitatively with systematic text condensation.

The results indicated that a surgical schedule was important for informing staff members about the cases and tasks they had been assigned. Staff also depended on ad hoc, explicit communication to ensure timeliness of particular perioperative activities. This, however, left little room for adjustments of other activities. Hence, to be able to proactively coordinate their own work some staff tried to predict future perioperative activities by observing the workplace, monitoring the surgical scheduling software for changes, and sharing their colleagues' progress updates and predictions. These findings could be important for those developing support for perioperative coordination.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.950724

Interprofessional teamwork in stroke care: Is it visible or important to patients and carers?

Interprofessional teamwork is seen in healthcare policy and practice as a key strategy for providing safe, efficient and holistic healthcare and is an accepted part of evidence-based stroke care. The impact of interprofessional teamwork on patient and carer experience(s) of care is unknown, although some research suggests a relationship might exist. 

A recent study by Hewitt and colleagues aimed to explore patient and carer perceptions of good and poor teamwork and its impact on experiences of care. Critical incident interviews were conducted with 50 patients and 33 carers in acute, inpatient rehabilitation and community phases of care within two UK stroke care pathways. An analytical framework, derived from a realist synthesis of 13 ‘mechanisms’ (processes) of interprofessional teamwork, was used to identify positive and negative ‘indicators’ of teamwork.

Participants identified several mechanisms of teamwork, but it was not a subject most talked about readily. This suggests that interprofessional teamwork is not a concept that is particularly important to stroke patients and carers; they do not readily perceive any impacts of teamwork on their experiences. These findings are a salient reminder that what might be expected by healthcare professionals to be important influences on experience may not be perceived to be so by patients and carers.

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.950727