Supporting Interprofessional Collaboration in Deprescribing: Needs Assessment for an Education Program.

INTRODUCTION: : Deprescribing is a complex process involving patients and healthcare providers. The aim of the project was to examine the learning needs and preferences of healthcare providers and students to inform the development of an interprofessional deprescribing education program. METHODS: : An online survey of pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, family physicians, and associated students practicing or studying in Nova Scotia was conducted. Respondents were recruited by purposive and snowball sampling to have at least five respondents within each professional/student group. Questions captured participant's self-reported comfort level and professional role for 12 deprescribing tasks and their learning preferences. RESULTS: : Sixty-nine respondents (46 healthcare providers and 23 students) completed the questionnaire. Average comfort levels for all 12 deprescribing tasks ranged from 40.22 to 78.90 of 100. Respondents reported their preferred deprescribing learning activities as watching videos and working through case studies. Healthcare providers preferred to learn asynchronously online, while students preferred a mix of online and in-person delivery. DISCUSSION: : Learning needs related to deprescribing tasks and roles were identified, as well as preferences for format and delivery of education. Development of an education program that can provide a shared understanding of collaborative deprescribing tailored to learner preferences may improve deprescribing in practice.

Moving Dietetics Forward with Queer Pedagogy: A Post-Structural Qualitative Study Exploring the Education and Training Experiences of Canadian Dietitians for LGBTQ Care.

BACKGROUND: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and other sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQ) people often experience health disparities and disparities in accessing safe health care. Yet dietetics curriculum and training opportunities for LGBTQ care are limited. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to explore the perspectives and professional training experiences within LGBTQ-focused topics of Canadian dietitians in order to inform future curriculum and pedagogy. DESIGN: This research is framed within poststructuralist philosophies. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: To be eligible, participants needed to be dietitians within Canada who had an interest in discussing gender and sexual diversity within the profession. Although the research call was open to all Canadian dietitians who wanted to discuss gender and sexual diversity within the profession, only dietitians who self-identified as allies to LGBTQ groups ended up participating in this project. Of the 16 dietitians who participated, 11 participants self-identified as members of LGBTQ groups and 5 self-identified as straight. All participants took part in online interviews done in private locations of their choosing from September 2020 to January 2021. ANALYSIS: A systematic thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Three themes, including understanding the ethics of dietetics education, recognizing the cis- and hetero-normativity of dietetics education, and moving forward with queer pedagogy, were noted from the data. CONCLUSIONS: Participants explored the lack of LGBTQ focus and content during their professional training and believed such gaps were problematic to the caring philosophies of dietetics. Participants offered insights into how dietetics educators can disrupt ingrained cis- hetero-normativity and rigid binary gender norms within dietetics education and curriculum.

COVID-19-related health anxieties and impact of specific interventions in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the UK.

OBJECTIVE: Health-related concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of specific local and national interventions have not been explored in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the UK. We evaluated perspectives of patients with IBD on the pandemic and effectiveness of information dissemination in addressing concerns. METHODS: We prospectively conducted a survey among patients with IBD during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess concerns, information-seeking behaviours, risk perception, compliance and effect of specific interventions. RESULTS: A total of 228 patients were interviewed of whom 89% reported being concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their health. Access to at least one IBD-specific clinical interaction during the pandemic (COVID-19 information letter from IBD team, interaction with IBD team or general practitioner, Crohn and Colitis UK website visit) was significantly associated with alleviating concerns (OR 2.66; 95% CI 1.35 to 5.24; p=0.005). Seeking health information solely through unofficial channels (search engines or social media) was less likely to ease concerns (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.61; p=0.008). A quarter of patients disagreed with their assigned risk groups, with majority perceiving higher-risk profiles. This discordance was greatest in patients within the moderate-risk group and constituted immunosuppression use. Nearly 40% of patients had ongoing concerns with regard to their medications of whom a third felt their concerns were not addressed. CONCLUSION: IBD-specific clinical interactions are associated with alleviation of COVID-19 health concerns. These findings have wider implications and emphasise importance of innovative solutions that facilitate effective communication with patients without overburdening current services.