Ten-year mixed-method evaluation of prelicensure health professional student self-reported learning in an interfaculty pain curriculum.

Introduction: Student perspectives on interprofessional pain education are lacking. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate ratings of knowledge acquisition and effective presentation methods for prelicensure health professional students attending the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (Canada). Methods: A 10-year (2009-2019) retrospective longitudinal mixed-methods approach comprising analysis and integration of quantitative and qualitative data sets was used to evaluate 5 core University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain Interfaculty Pain Curriculum learning sessions. Results: A total of 10, 693 students were enrolled (2009-2019) with a mean annual attendance of 972 students (±SD:102). The mean proportion of students rating "agree/strongly agree" for knowledge acquisition and effective presentation methods across sessions was 79.3% (±SD:3.4) and 76.7% (±SD:6.0), respectively. Knowledge acquisition or presentation effectiveness scores increased, respectively, over time for 4 core sessions: online self-study pain mechanisms module (P = 0.03/P < 0.001), online self-study opioids module (P = 0.04/P = 0.019), individually selected in-person topical pain sessions (P = 0.03/P < 0.001), and in-person patient or interprofessional panel session (P = 0.03). Qualitative data corroborated rating scores and expanded insight into student expectations for knowledge acquisition to inform real-world clinical practice and interprofessional collaboration; presentation effectiveness corresponded with smaller session size, individually selected sessions, case-based scenarios, embedded knowledge appraisal, and opportunities to meaningfully interact with presenters and peers. Conclusion: This study demonstrated positive and increasing prelicensure student ratings of knowledge acquisition and effective presentation methods across multifaceted learning sessions in an interfaculty pain curriculum. This study has implications for pain curriculum design aimed at promoting students' collaborative, patient-centered working skills.See commentary: Trouvin A-P. "Ten-year mixed method evaluation of prelicensure health professional student self-reported learning in an interfaculty pain curriculum": a view on pain education. PAIN Rep 2022;7:e1031.Students attending learning sessions at the University of Toronto Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (2009-2019) in Toronto, Canada, self-report high ratings of knowledge acquisition and effective presentation methods.

Ten years of interfaculty pain curriculum at the University of Toronto: impact on student learning.

INTRODUCTION: Delivery of interprofessional pain education for prelicensure healthcare professionals is strongly recommended to advance a workforce ready for collaborative practice and to improve the quality and outcomes of pain care. OBJECTIVES: We report a 10-year (2009-2019) longitudinal evaluation of a 20-hour undergraduate Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (IPC) delivered to students in the Faculties of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Medicine (also including the Departments of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant) at the University of Toronto, Canada. The IPC follows a constructivist approach to facilitate interactive and multifaceted learning. METHODS: Evaluation methods based on the Kirkpatrick model were used to appraise changes in participating students' pain knowledge and beliefs and their ability to collaboratively develop an interprofessional pain management plan. RESULTS: A total of 10,693 students participated over the 10-year study period. The mean annual attendance was 972 students and participation to the program increased significantly over the years. Overall, the IPC was effective in improving students' mean pain knowledge and beliefs scores; however, the mean knowledge score gains were negatively correlated with time, likely related to increased uniprofessional pain education. Although an increasing trend in mean interprofessional pain management plan scores was observed, the scores were not significantly correlated with time. CONCLUSIONS: The interactive and multifaceted IPC is consistently effective in improving knowledge and beliefs and interprofessional pain management care plan development among participating student cohorts. Future inquiry is required to better understand the mechanisms behind student learning in interprofessional pain education to enhance pain curriculum development and delivery.

Mapping of pain curricula across health professions programs at the University of Toronto.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing societal need for health professional competency in pain care. The University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain-Interfaculty Pain Curriculum (UTCSP-IPC) has been offered since 2002. Content and process have been updated annually. In addition, participating health professions programs have advanced their pain teaching. A curricular scan was needed to creatively and constructively advance the UTCSP-IPC. AIM: The aim of this study was to map curricular pain content in participating health professions programs onto the UTCSP-IPC content as a first step to further curriculum design. METHODS: UTCSP-IPC committee members and faculty representatives from six health profession programs completed a 27-item online survey in this collaborative action study. Descriptive statistics were completed in Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: The UTCSP-IPC provided an average of 43.3% (range 32%-62%) of total pain content teaching hours to participating health professions students and a range of 8% to 100% of total opioid-related teaching hours. Curricular overlaps and gaps in pain content were identified and will be used to update and inform the iterative design of the UTCSP-IPC. Ninety-three percent of participating health professions faculty indicated that the interprofessional focus on pain care in the UTCSP-IPC was important. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the value of the UTCSP and areas of curricular refinement to ensure continued relevance in relationship to pain content within the six participating health professions programs. Mapping a coordinated approach between uniprofessional and interprofessional teaching will both meet the demands of professional competence and create greater applicability to future practice settings.

Contexte : Il est de plus en plus nécessaire que les professionnels de la santé aient les compétences nécessaires pour la prise en charge de la douleur au sein de la société. Le Programme interfacultaire sur la douleur du Centre pour l'étude de la douleur de l'Université de Toronto (UTCSP-IPC) est offert depuis 2002. Son contenu et son processus ont été mis à jour chaque année. Les programmes des professions du domaine de la santé participantes ont eux aussi perfectionné leur enseignement sur la douleur. Une radiographie du programme était donc nécessaire afin d'améliorer l'UTCSP-IPC de manière créative et constructive.Objectif : Recenser le contenu sur la douleur dans les programmes des professions du domaine de la santé participantes afin de l'inclure dans l'UTCSP-IPC en tant que première étape pour améliorer la conception du programme.Méthodes : Des membres du comité de l'UTCSP-IPC et des représentants des facultés de six programmes de professions du domaine de la santé ont répondu à un sondage en ligne comprenant 27 énoncés dans le cadre de cette étude collaborative. Des statistiques descriptives ont ensuite été compilées dans Microsoft Excel™.Résultats : Au total, l'UTCSP-IPC a donné en moyenne 43,4 % (entre 32 et 62 %) d'heures d'enseignement sur la douleur aux étudiants des professions du domaine de la santé participantes, et de huit à 100 % d'heures d'enseignement liées aux opioïdes. Les lacunes et les chevauchements dans le contenu portant sur la douleur ont été répertoriés. Cette information sera utilisée pour la mise à jour et la conception itérative de l'UTCSP-IPC. Quatre-vingt-treize pour cent des facultés des professions du domaine de la santé participantes ont souligné l'importance de continuer à mettre l'accent sur l'aspect interprofessionnel de la prise en charge de la douleur dans l'UTCSP-IPC.Conclusion : Cette étude a mis en évidence l'importance de l'UTCSP ainsi que les aspects du programme qui doivent être peaufinés pour maintenir sa pertinence en ce qui concerne le contenu sur la douleur au sein des six programmes des professions du domaine de la santé participantes. L'élaboration d'une approche coordonnée entre l'enseignement uniprofessionnel et l'enseignement interprofessionnel permettra à la fois de répondre aux exigences en matière de compétences professionelles et d'améliorer l'applicabilité dans les futurs milieux de pratique.