June Anonson

Knowledge of the professional role of others: A key interprofessional competency

In this paper, the authors present the results of a study which delineated six key competencies of interprofessional collaborative practice for patient-centred care: communication; strength in ones professional role; knowledge of professional role of others; leadership; team function; and negotiation for conflict resolution. While all of these competencies are important and require special attention, this paper examines and discusses the competency knowledge of professional role of others and its associated behavioural indicators, especially as these relate to the interprofessional education of nursing students. The identification of these competencies and their behavioural indicators serve two purposes. It forms the basis for the preparation of students, preceptors, and faculty for interprofessional practice, and it develops a tool for assessing student performance in such practice. Consequently, we believe that the utilization of this key competency and its behavioural indicators will contribute to the development of programs that include specific knowledge and skills related to interprofessional nursing education. This will enable educators to support and evaluate students in interprofessional educational experiences more efficiently and effectively. Ultimately, as nursing students practice and become fully functioning practitioners, client care will be optimized.

Interdisciplinary collaborative approach to health education: a partnership addressing community health needs and laying the groundwork for long term planning in health education.

Entering the 21st century, public pressure to graduate healthcare workers to fill expected labour shortages has risen to a frenzied pitch. Consequently, post-secondary administrators are inundated with requests to boost the number and enhance the variety of healthcare programs. Unfortunately, it is not financially feasible for administrators to address every program request, and incredibly difficult to set priorities for these equally passionate and legitimate requests. In Northern British Columbia, Canada, five educational institutions and a health authority collaborated to address this difficulty, assess the region’s healthcare needs and prioritize health education programming. The partnership aimed to create a regional, comprehensive body of health human resources information, assess the region’s healthcare worker needs, and ultimately ensure a strategic education response to local needs. The focus of this article is to describe this collaboration, while evaluating the strengths and challenges of using a partnership of this kind. This report highlights feedback on the collaborative process from partners, researchers and the research associates involved.

Economist intelligence unit democracy index in relation to health services accessibility: a regression analysis

BACKGROUND The relationship between political environment and health services accessibility (HSA) has not been the focus of any specific studies. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between political environment and HSA. METHODS This relationship that HSA indicators (physicians, nurses and hospital beds per 10 000 people) has with political environment was analyzed with multiple least-squares regression using the components of democracy (electoral processes and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties). The components of democracy were represented by the 2011 Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index (EIUDI) sub-scores. The EIUDI sub-scores and the HSA indicators were evaluated for significant relationships with multiple least-squares regression. RESULTS While controlling for a countrys geographic location and level of democracy, we found that two components of a nations political environment: functioning of government and political participation, and their interaction had significant relationships with the three HSA indicators. CONCLUSIONS These study findings are of significance to health professionals because they examine the political contexts in which citizens access health services, they come from research that is the first of its kind, and they help explain the effect political environment has on health.

Front-line service providers’ appraisal of Saskatchewan’s HIV services and strategy: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examined front-line health care providers’ understandings of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health’s 2010–2014 HIV strategy, their capacity building needs, and perspectives on how well they were implementing HIV services. Providers’ experiences of engaging people living with HIV, community leaders, and communities affected by the epidemic reveal a need to strengthen interprofessional networks. Our findings also indicate the need for HIV services to respond to coexisting challenges, including substance use, violence, and mental health care for people living with HIV. Programs in rural northern Saskatchewan should also address homelessness, disparities in access to care, and HIV stigma issues.

Taking the Right Action in the Right Way: A Comparison of Frameworks for Assessing the Health and Quality of Life of a Postsecondary Student Campus Community

The focus of campus health research, historically, has been on population health at the individual or aggregate level with little effort to examine the health of the students at a community level with a focus on the broader determinants of health and community-level intervention. The purpose of this article is to critique three models or frameworks of campus health, articulate the World Health Organization (WHO) vision of a health-promoting university, and demonstrate the efficacy of adapting the Community Health Action model for use in university and college settings. Foundational within this proposed model is taking the right action using the right process, an inclusive participatory process. Adaptation of the model requires careful attention to student engagement in community, a healthy campus infrastructure and processes, and relationships beyond the campus. Effective student community assessment and improvement of student community health, ultimately, will serve to generate knowledge and build skills at various levels to benefit the health and quality of life of the students, their student community, the educational institution, and the broader community.