The role of mentoring and coaching of healthcare professionals for digital technology adoption and implementation: A scoping review.

Objective: Mentoring and coaching practices have supported the career and skill development of healthcare professionals (HCPs); however, their role in digital technology adoption and implementation for HCPs is unknown. The objective of this scoping review was to summarize information on healthcare education programs that have integrated mentoring or coaching as a key component. Methods: The search strategy and keyword searches were developed by the project team and a research librarian. A two-stage screening process consisting of a title/abstract scan and a full-text review was conducted by two independent reviewers to determine study eligibility. Articles were included if they: (1) discussed the mentoring and/or coaching of HCPs on digital technology, including artificial intelligence, (2) described a population of HCPs at any stage of their career, and (3) were published in English. Results: A total of 9473 unique citations were screened, identifying 19 eligible articles. 11 articles described mentoring and/or coaching programs for digital technology adoption, while eigth described mentoring and/or coaching for digital technology implementation. Program participants represented a diverse range of industries (i.e., clinical, academic, education, business, and information technology). Digital technologies taught within programs included electronic health records (EHRs), ultrasound imaging, digital health informatics, and computer skills. Conclusions: This review provided a summary of the role of mentoring and/or coaching practices within digital technology education for HCPs. Future training initiatives for HCPs should consider appropriate resources, program design, mentor-learner relationship, security concerns and setting clear expectations for program participants. Future research could explore mentor/coach characteristics that would facilitate successful skill transfer.

Paving the Way Forward for Evidence-Based Continuing Professional Development.

ABSTRACT: Continuing professional development (CPD) fosters lifelong learning and enables health care providers to keep their knowledge and skills current with rapidly evolving health care practices. Instructional methods promoting critical thinking and decision making contribute to effective CPD interventions. The delivery methods influence the uptake of content and the resulting changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior. Educational approaches are needed to ensure that CPD meets the changing needs of health care providers. This article examines the development approach and key recommendations embedded in a CE Educator's toolkit created to evolve CPD practice and foster a learning experience that promotes self-awareness, self-reflection, competency, and behavioral change. The Knowledge-to-Action framework was used in designing the toolkit. The toolkit highlighted three intervention formats: facilitation of small group learning, case-based learning, and reflective learning. Strategies and guidelines to promote active learning principles in CPD activities within different modalities and learning contexts were included. The goal of the toolkit is to assist CPD providers to design educational activities that optimally support health care providers' self-reflection and knowledge translation into their clinical environment and contribute to practice improvement, thus achieving the outcomes of the quintuple aim.

The Adoption of AI in Mental Health Care-Perspectives From Mental Health Professionals: Qualitative Descriptive Study.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the mental health care environment. AI tools are increasingly accessed by clients and service users. Mental health professionals must be prepared not only to use AI but also to have conversations about it when delivering care. Despite the potential for AI to enable more efficient and reliable and higher-quality care delivery, there is a persistent gap among mental health professionals in the adoption of AI. OBJECTIVE: A needs assessment was conducted among mental health professionals to (1) understand the learning needs of the workforce and their attitudes toward AI and (2) inform the development of AI education curricula and knowledge translation products. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach was taken to explore the needs of mental health professionals regarding their adoption of AI through semistructured interviews. To reach maximum variation sampling, mental health professionals (eg, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, educators, scientists, and social workers) in various settings across Ontario (eg, urban and rural, public and private sector, and clinical and research) were recruited. RESULTS: A total of 20 individuals were recruited. Participants included practitioners (9/20, 45% social workers and 1/20, 5% mental health nurses), educator scientists (5/20, 25% with dual roles as professors/lecturers and researchers), and practitioner scientists (3/20, 15% with dual roles as researchers and psychiatrists and 2/20, 10% with dual roles as researchers and mental health nurses). Four major themes emerged: (1) fostering practice change and building self-efficacy to integrate AI into patient care; (2) promoting system-level change to accelerate the adoption of AI in mental health; (3) addressing the importance of organizational readiness as a catalyst for AI adoption; and (4) ensuring that mental health professionals have the education, knowledge, and skills to harness AI in optimizing patient care. CONCLUSIONS: AI technologies are starting to emerge in mental health care. Although many digital tools, web-based services, and mobile apps are designed using AI algorithms, mental health professionals have generally been slower in the adoption of AI. As indicated by this study's findings, the implications are 3-fold. At the individual level, digital professionals must see the value in digitally compassionate tools that retain a humanistic approach to care. For mental health professionals, resistance toward AI adoption must be acknowledged through educational initiatives to raise awareness about the relevance, practicality, and benefits of AI. At the organizational level, digital professionals and leaders must collaborate on governance and funding structures to promote employee buy-in. At the societal level, digital and mental health professionals should collaborate in the creation of formal AI training programs specific to mental health to address knowledge gaps. This study promotes the design of relevant and sustainable education programs to support the adoption of AI within the mental health care sphere.

The impact of combined age-related vision loss and dementia on the participation of older adults: A scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: There are a growing number of older adults with combined age-related vision loss (ARVL) and dementia. Existing literature shows the pervasive impact that both diagnoses have separately on the participation of older adults, however, little is known about the societal participation of older adults with both conditions. As such, the aim of this scoping review was to explore the combined impact of ARVL and dementia on the participation of older adults, with a specific focus on highlighting strategies that help mitigate the impact of ARVL and dementia on participation. METHODS: This study utilized a scoping review, informed by the framework by Arksey and O'Malley [1]. Two researchers independently ran a total of 62 search terms across four categories in six databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO), with an initial yield of 2,053 articles. Grey literature was also included in this scoping review and was retrieved from organizational websites, brochures, conference proceedings, and a Google Scholar search. The application of study inclusion criteria resulted in a final yield of 13 empirical studies and 10 grey literature sources. RESULTS: Following detailed thematic analysis of the empirical and grey literature sources, four themes emerged regarding the impact of combined ARVL and dementia on the participation of older adults including: 1) Managing the pragmatic aspects of a dual diagnosis; 2) Diverse approaches to risk assessment and management; 3) Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to facilitate care and; 4) Using compensatory strategies to facilitate participation. CONCLUSIONS: The four themes highlight the challenges older adults with these combined diagnoses experience, which limit their opportunities for meaningful participation. Given the scarcity of research on this topic, future research should identify the type of ARVL and dementia diagnoses of study participants, conduct qualitative research about the lived experiences of older adults with a dual diagnosis, and broaden the geographic scope of research.