Interprofessional Collaborative Care Skills and Behaviors: Perception Differences Between Allied Health Students and an Independent Observer.

Interprofessional practice and education (IPE) is incorporated into pre-licensure healthcare programs to prepare students for collaboration in clinical practice and to improve patient outcomes. The use of interprofessional simulation as a teaching strategy is increasing, but most literature involves medical and nursing students, and outcomes measure students' knowledge, perceptions, or attitudes. The purpose of this study was to compare allied health students' self-assessment of their team's interprofessional collaborative care (IPCC) skills and behaviors with an independent observer's perception during an interprofessional simulation discharge planning event with standardized patients. Students (n = 177) were recruited from the Departments of Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), and Physician Assistant Studies (PA). Students reflected on their team's performance, and an independent observer assessed each team's IPCC skills and behaviors with a valid and reliable tool developed from the IPEC Core Competencies. The results showed that students' assessments of their teams' IPCC were significantly greater than the independent observer's ratings. Additionally, the observer found that the students demonstrated higher levels of interprofessional collaboration during a team huddle without a standardized patient present. This study suggests that IPE program evaluation should include observations of interprofessional skills and behaviors and that students involved in interprofessional simulation may benefit from a team huddle prior to team interactions with a standardized patient.

Comparing Component-Based and Occupation-Based Interventions of a Person with Visual Deficits' Performance.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of component-based, occupation-based, and a combined intervention for visual-scanning to improve occupational performance. This exploratory case study used a 55-year-old female, seven years post-stroke with visual field deficits, who completed a component-based intervention (Vision Coach), an occupation-based intervention (IADL activities that incorporated scanning tasks), and a combined intervention. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) was completed prior to and after each intervention. Participant's data was compared between interventions and AMPS standardization sample, with observable improvements in motor skills and process skills. Visual-scanning training as a compensatory method appears to be effective for chronic visual field deficits post-stroke, particularly using component-based and occupation-based interventions in combination.

Interprofessional education for health science students' attitudes and readiness to work interprofessionally: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education of healthcare providers is necessary to foster collaborative practice and improve patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of the single-session interprofessional education in improving interprofessional attitudes, increasing knowledge of healthcare professions, and improving perceived-readiness for working interprofessionally and with older adults in students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant graduate programs. METHODS: We used a prospective, pre-post cohort design. Fall risk evaluation for older adults was selected as the topic of the 4-hour interprofessional education session. Graduate students from three professional programs including occupational therapy (n=20), physical therapy (n=26), and physician assistant studies (n=35) participated in the study, and 17 older adults aged 65 years or older volunteered for the session. Our primary outcome measure was the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale measuring interprofessional attitudes, and our secondary outcome measure was the study-specific questionnaire measuring the direct effect of our interprofessional education session. RESULTS: Graduate students showed significant improvements in the subscale of teamwork, roles, and responsibilities in the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale. Students also showed significant improvements in "understanding of other professions," "perceived-readiness to work interprofessionally," and "perceived-readiness to work with older adults" in the study-specific questionnaire. Ceiling effects were observed in most of the subscales in the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that a single 4-hour interprofessional education session can improve interprofessional attitudes, knowledge of other professions, and perceived-readiness of health science graduate students to work interprofessionally and to work with older adults.

Rehabilitation Intervention for Individuals With Heart Failure and Fatigue to Reduce Fatigue Impact: A Feasibility Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate feasibility of recruitment, tablet use in intervention delivery, and use of self-report outcome measures and to analyze the effect of Energy Conservation plus Problem-Solving Therapy versus Health Education interventions for individuals with heart failure-associated fatigue. METHODS: This feasibility study was a block-randomized controlled trial involving 23 adults, blinded to their group assignment, in a rural southern area in the United States. Individuals with heart failure and fatigue received the interventions for 6 weeks through videoconferencing or telephone. Participants were taught to solve their fatiguerelated problems using energy conservation strategies and the process of Problem-Solving Therapy or educated about health-related topics. RESULTS: The recruitment rate was 23%. All participants completed the study participation according to their group assignment, except for one participant in the Energy Conservation plus Problem-Solving Therapy group. Participants primarily used the tablet (n=21) rather than the phone (n=2). Self-report errors were noted on Activity Card Sort (n=23). Reported fatigue was significantly lower for both the Energy Conservation plus Problem-Solving Therapy (p=0.03, r=0.49) and Health Education (p=0.004, r=0.64) groups. The Health Education group reported significantly lower fatigue impact (p=0.019, r=0.48). Participation was significantly different in low-physical demand leisure activities (p=0.008; r=0.55) favoring the Energy Conservation plus Problem-Solving Therapy group. CONCLUSION: The recruitment and delivery of the interventions were feasible. Activity Card Sort may not be appropriate for this study population due to recall bias. The interventions warrant future research to reduce fatigue and decrease participation in sedentary activities (Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT03820674).