Jennifer Mendez

Examining the effects of an experiential interprofessional education activity with older adults

ABSTRACT The need for experienced healthcare professionals to work with older adults is great, yet educational training is limited. In this interprofessional education (IPE) study, 861 students from five professions made 293 visits in the homes or preferred community settings of 208 older adults. Surveys with quantitative and open-text feedback assessed attitudes towards older adults, IPE team functioning, and the value of home visits. Survey results showed strongly positive attitudes towards ageing and older adults. Students from all professions expressed surprise and admiration for the active lives led by these healthier older adults, lives clearly in contrast to stereotypes of ageing. They further acknowledged the value of collaborative team functioning in meeting older adult needs, learned more about the roles and responsibilities of other professions, and identified strengths of the home as a site for care. Students positively valued the experience as part of their professional training, with 82% of all students stating they would welcome additional IPE opportunities. Results suggest that an experiential IPE activity can positively shape student attitudes towards older adults, IPE, and interprofessional collaboration.

Experiential Interprofessional Education Using an Older Adult Home Visit

Inter-professional teams are fundamental for collaborative patient care. This older adult home visit program was developed to introduce teamwork concepts to medical social work and pharmacy students. The majority of the students felt that teams deliver comprehensive care and that working in teams would contribute to their professional success.

Patient assessment of engagement with students in an interprofessional student-run free clinic for individuals experiencing homelessness

ABSTRACT The development and validation of a patient exit interview tool, the Interprofessional Clinic Homeless Satisfaction with Student Engagement Survey (ICHSES), and its incorporation in the administration of an interprofessional, co-curricular program, the Community Homeless Interprofessional Program (CHIP) is described. Incorporation of patient satisfaction with student engagement during interprofessional training experiences serving individuals who are homeless has not been previously published. At CHIP, medical, pharmacy and social work students engage with individuals experiencing homelessness in a church and faculty-supervised environment. The students provide basic health assessment, education, and referrals to community resources. Once the interaction with the students is complete, patients are asked to participate in an exit-interview using the ICHSES. Questions in the ICHSES focus on engagement with the students and the patient’s perception of the assistance they received. Based on survey responses by 220 patients, the 5 question ICHSES showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77). The ICHSES survey could be utilized in similar clinics engaged in serving the homeless.

eHealthSmart®: Designing personalized e-technology to reduce health disparities on urban adult populations

This interdisciplinary study (information science, nursing, business, engineering, and gerontology) focuses on the design and development of personalized eHealthSmart®, an information system specific to smoking cessation, health diet, and exercise. In designing and developing eHealthSmart® we adopted theoretical frameworks of Kolb Learning-Style Inventory and Davis Technology Acceptance Model. The system was built using ColdFusion scripting language, MySQL database, running at the Linux platform. It is clear from our pilot test that urban older adults have access, are comfortable, and willing to participate in educational programs that use personalized eHealth programs.