Position paper of the GMA Committee Interprofessional Education in the Health Professions - current status and outlook.

In the wake of local initiatives and developmental funding programs, interprofessionality is now included in national curricula in the German-speaking countries. Based on the 3P model (presage, process, product), this position paper presents the development of interprofessional education in recent years in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and places it in an international context. Core aspects as legal frameworks, including amendments to occupational regulations as well as the formation of networks and faculty development are basic requirements for interprofessional education. New topics and educational settings take shape in the process of interprofessional education: patient perspectives and teaching formats, such as online courses, become more important or are newly established. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on interprofessional education is explored as well. Among many new interprofessional courses, particularly the implementation of interprofessional training wards in Germany and Switzerland are positive examples of successful interprofessional education. The objective of interprofessional education continues to be the acquisition of interprofessional competencies. The main focus is now centered on evaluating this educational format and testing for the corresponding competencies. In the future, more capacities will be required for interprofessional continuing education and post-graduate education. Structured research programs are essential to ascertain the effects of interprofessional education in the German-speaking countries. In this position paper the GMA committee on interprofessional education encourages further advancement of this topic and expresses the aim to continue cooperating with other networks to strengthen and intensify interprofessional education and collaboration in healthcare.

Enhancing of self-regulated learning strategies for health care students to improve e-learning in the "Corona semester" as an interdisciplinary task.

Objective: Self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies are a central prerequisite for the goal-oriented and successful use of digital learning opportunities in the study of health care professions. It is often presumed that students are proficient in SRL, but this could not be taken for granted. Using the example of the master's degree program in nursing education at the Fliedner University of Applied Sciences, it is shown how the topic of SRL can support students in self-directed e-learning and expand their digital learning competence. Method: The period of e-learning was initiated with a project introducing to SRL. The students (n= 49) elaborated task-based text work on SRL, which was made available via a learning platform. Subsequently, the students reflected individually on their SRL using a proven questionnaire and set development goals for themselves. At the end of the semester the usefulness of SRL was evaluated in a group discussion with open questions from the students' point of view and the answers were qualitatively evaluated. Results: The knowledge of SRL supported the students during the period of e-learning to plan their learning activities goal-oriented manner and to use the learning opportunities systematically. Discussion/conclusions: SRL can promote the digital learning competence of students and support them in coping with the study requirements during the period of e-learning. In this context, SRL could be included in an interdisciplinary curriculum to foster the digital learning competence of students as an interdisciplinary topic and cross-sectional subject in all study programs of health care professions.

Interprofessional nutrition management - implementation and evaluation of a course for medical and nursing students using research-based learning method.

Objective: The aim of the teaching project "Interprofessional Nutrition Management in Inpatient and Home Care" of the Medical Faculty of the Heinrich Heine University (HHU) and the Fliedner University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (FFH) was to test an interprofessional training session on the topic of malnutrition using the method of research-based learning to evaluate feasibility. Method: In the teaching project for medical and nursing students, research-based learning was applied in a case-based cross-sector setting. The teaching project was assessed quantitatively by the participating students through questionnaires and four newly-developed scales. The modeling and reliability of the scales (from 1 to 5) was confirmed by an exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. The scales were evaluated descriptively and through inferential statistics. Results: The medical (n=21) and nursing students (n=25) rated the teaching project positively. Across all professional groups, the social context between the students (M=4.6) and the relevance of the topic (M=4.47) were rated very highly. The use of research-based learning (M=3.9) and the final assessment of the training session (M=3.9) were rated as satisfactory. Conclusions: The method of research-based learning proved to be very suitable for interprofessional education, as it enabled situations which encouraged the health professionals to learn from one another, about one another and with one another. Through the interdisciplinary discussion of malnutrition, cooperation skills and initial competences in nutritional management can be cultivated in future doctors and nursing staff even during training.

Implementation Outcomes and Indicators as a New Challenge in Health Services Research: A Systematic Scoping Review.

The aim of this systematic scoping review was to identify and analyze indicators that address implementation quality or success in health care services and to deduce recommendations for further indicator development. This review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Manual and the PRISMA Statement. CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched. Studies or reviews published between August 2008 and 2018 that reported monitoring of the quality or the implementation success in health care services by using indicators based on continuous variables and proportion-based, ratio-based, standardized ratio-based, or rate-based variables or indices were included. The records were screened by title and abstract, and the full-text articles were also independently double-screened by 3 reviewers for eligibility. In total, 4376 records were identified that resulted in 10 eligible studies, including 67 implementation indicators. There was heterogeneity regarding the theoretical backgrounds, designs, objectives, settings, and implementation indicators among the publications. None of the indicators addressed the implementation outcomes of appropriateness or sustainability. Service implementation efficiency was identified as an additional outcome. Achieving consensus in framing implementation outcomes and indicators will be a new challenge in health services research. Considering the new debates regarding health care complexity, the further development of indicators based on complementary qualitative and quantitative approaches is needed.

Impact of interprofessional education for medical and nursing students on the nutritional management of in-patients.

Introduction: Despite its frequency, malnutrition is underestimated in its importance for morbidity and mortality. Interprofessional nutrition management can improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. An interprofessional education is considered as the basis for good team cooperation. So far, little data is available on the effects of interprofessional education on measurable outcomes for patients. The objective is to determine to what extent student feedback leads to a change of in-patient nutritional management for a selected internal medical ward. Methodology: In a teaching project based on the method of research oriented learning, medical and nursing students conducted an analysis of the nutritional situation of patients and developed individual treatment plans. The students orally reported their findings to the care teams as well as via a poster presentation to decision-makers of the clinic. A prospective cohort intervention study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of patients before and after student interventions using established screening tools. Differences were tested using t-test and Fisher's exact test. Institutional consequences for nutrition management were recorded descriptively. The teaching unit was evaluated by the students before and after. Results: Malnutrition was found in 59% of patients. Inspired by student feedback, institutional consequences followed: a) routine inpatient screening using Nutritional Risk Screening; and b) the use of pie charts to estimate food intake. Conclusion: The feedback from the results of student interprofessional cooperation led to a sensitization of decision-makers and enabled new measures to improve nutritional management. These can increase patient safety.

[Systematic translation and cross-validation of defined implementation outcomes in health care services]. / Systematische Übersetzung und Cross-Validierung definierter Implementierungsoutcomes der Gesundheitsversorgung.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a German translation of construct-validated implementation outcomes of Proctor et al. (2011). METHODS: A systematic translation process and a cross-validation based on Beaton et al. (2000) were performed. RESULTS: Semantic challenges arose regarding the definitions of "adoption" and "fidelity". Consistent formulation was established. CONCLUSION: The validated definitions are a starting point for developing a comprehensive concept to measure implementation effectiveness and efficacy of interventions in health services research.

Reporting systems in long term care: heading for implementation / Berichts- und Lernsysteme in der stationären Langzeitpflege auf dem Weg zur Implementierung.

Background: There is a need for discussing influencing factors of the implementation of critical incident reporting systems in long term care. Objective of this publication is to describe the value of Reporting and Learning Systems and to discuss concrete recommendations for implementation based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Influencing factors of successful implementation: A successful implementation is related to a systematic approach and several success factors. The following factors of implementation after analysis with Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research are relevant: (i) a standardised and straightforward design, (ii) the consideration of external stimuli, (iii) the development of a positive organisational and safety culture that facilitates implementation by providing resources, (iv) the consideration of needs, knowledge and individual processes of change, and (v) repeated evaluation of the implementation process. Outlook: A particular focus should be applied to visible interventions. Safety culture will be reinforced by enabling personalized reports. However, today it is needed to face current barriers. It is recommended to develop and to test instruments that measure implementation and to investigate the success of sustainable implementation.