Creating Interprofessional Readiness to Advance Age-Friendly U.S. Healthcare.

A successful interprofessional faculty development program was transformed into a more clinically focused professional development opportunity for both faculty and clinicians. Discipline-specific geriatric competencies and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies were aligned to the 4Ms framework. The goal of the resulting program, Creating Interprofessional Readiness for Complex and Aging Adults (CIRCAA), was to advance an age-friendly practice using evidence-based strategies to support wellness and improve health outcomes while also addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH). An interprofessional team employed a multidimensional approach to create age-friendly, person-centered practitioners. In this mixed methods study, questionnaires were disseminated and focus groups were conducted with two cohorts of CIRCAA scholars to determine their ability to incorporate learned evidence-based strategies into their own practice environments. Themes and patterns were identified among transcribed interview recordings. Multiple coders were used to identify themes and patterns and inter-coder reliability was assessed. The findings indicate that participants successfully incorporated age-friendly principles and best practices into their own work environments and escaped the silos of their disciplines through the implementation of their capstone projects. Quantitative data supported qualitative themes and revealed gains in knowledge of critical components of age-friendly healthcare and perceptions of interprofessional collaborative care. These results are discussed within a new conceptual framework for studying the multidimensional complexity of what it means to be age-friendly. Our findings suggest that programs such as CIRCAA have the potential to improve older adults' health by addressing SDOH, advancing age-friendly and patient-centered care, and promoting an interprofessional model of evidence-based practice.

Evaluation of an interprofessional, evidence-based falls training.

Fall-related injuries and mortality are increasing in older adults. Evidence suggests a need for a multifactorial, interprofessional approach to reducing falls. The Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) utilizes an interprofessional approach to care and serves a high-risk population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an EBP falls prevention training program conducted at a PACE. The program was a revision of an established program and was led by an interprofessional team. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach to assess program quality, learning and self-efficacy gains, and intended behavioral changes. Quantitative evaluation demonstrated program satisfaction and qualitative responses identified the depth and interprofessional delivery as favorable. Qualitative data identified opportunities to enhance content and learning design. Overall knowledge gains were statistically significant (mean difference 5%), with the greatest gains related to the evidence base (mean difference 2.67%). Self-efficacy ratings increased significantly after each session. Participants noted changes to team function and a willingness to consider practice changes as a result of the training. The findings support the effectiveness of this interprofessional, EBP training program on falls prevention practices in a PACE and highlight the value of a multifaceted assessment and iterative development.