Pharmacy Strategic Approaches for IPE Assessment

Purpose: The main goal of this presentation is to share pharmacy-specific strategies for assessing the structure, process, and outcomes of IPE programs. Background: An effective assessment plan includes evaluating each component of the IPE model: Structure, Process, and Outcomes. The structure of IPE contains curriculum, facilities, capacity, and technology. The process encompasses development of faculty/preceptors, in addition to engaging students, patients, and collaborative practices. And the outcomes comprise achieving the educational and clinical goals of an IPE program and meeting its vision and mission. There is a need to provide this critical information in a succinct format as a variety of accrediting bodies are expecting discipline specific assessment of IPE. Description of Intervention: Noting that a sound assessment plan should be developed prior to implementing interprofessional education (IPE) programs, the presenters will share successful strategies for evaluating students’ participation and patients’ engagement as partners in developing their care plans. Following a thorough literature review, examples of current tools used to assess the quality of educational and clinical outcomes of IPE programs will be presented. Results: Key IPE assessment tools have been identified and categorized based on the major components of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model: (1) reaction; (2a) attitude modification; (2b) knowledge and skill acquisition; (3) behavioral change; (4) change in organizational practice. These tools will be presented relative to their applicability to pharmacy education. Conclusions: It is vital for administrators and faculty to ensure that the mission, goals, and educational, behavioral, and clinical outcomes of IPE programs are met. Improvement initiatives must continually assess the quality of IPE programs. Relevance to interprofessional education or practice: The strategy used to identify and categorize assessment tools can be applied to other healthcare disciplines delivering IPE. These tools, relative to the Kirkpatrick evaluation model, map the specific learning objectives to the educational endeavors. Learning Objectives: 1. Describe a process for identifying assessment tools to utilize in the development of a programmatic IPE assessment plan. 2. Identify how utilizing the various assessment tools, per the Kirkpatrick evaluation model, can be applied to a programmatic curricular map. 3. Summarize “lessons learned” in assessing IPE in various pharmacy curricul

Vertebral bone marrow fat, bone mineral density and diabetes : The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study

Elevated vertebral bone marrow fat (BMF) among individuals with osteoporosis has been established in histomorphometric studies. Several studies have found a negative correlation between BMF and bone mineral density (BMD) at the spine in men and women across different age groups. Animal studies have also observed bone loss with increased BMF in mice with induced diabetes. Our study objective was to test the hypothesis that the association between BMF and BMD varies by diabetic status. We performed a cross-sectional study of 156 men aged 74-96years from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study at the Pittsburgh clinical site. All men had spine BMF scans using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and spine and hip BMD scans by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. BMF was expressed as lipid to "lipid+water" ratio (%). Men were considered diabetic if they self-reported a physician diagnosis of diabetes, diabetes medication or had a fasting glucose ≥126mg/dl. Men with diabetes (n=38) had a significantly higher spine BMF (58.9 vs. 54.6%, p=0.0035), spine BMD (1.20 vs. 1.10g/cm(2), P=0.007) and total hip BMD (1.00 vs. 0.94g/cm(2), p=0.04) than those without, while no differences were observed for body weight, body mass index or waist circumference. Pearson correlation tests showed no significant correlation of spine BMF with age or BMD in non-diabetics. Significant inverse correlations were observed between BMF and BMD (-0.30 for femoral neck and -0.39 for total hip) among diabetic men. In conclusion, men with diabetes had a higher BMF compared to non-diabetic men. The correlation between BMF and BMD differed by diabetes status. Further investigation of the association of diabetes with BMF and BMD may provide a better understanding of the high fracture rates among individuals with diabetes despite their higher BMD

Expanding the Adoption on Private Lands: Blowing-and-Drifting Snow Control Treatments and the Cost Effectiveness of Permanent versus Non-Permanent Treatment Options

Previous research that estimated the costs and benefits of snow-fences for MnDOT in terms of a reduction in the costs of mitigating blowing-and-drifting snow problem areas (MN/RC 2012-03) demonstrated the ability of snow-fences to significantly lower those costs for MnDOT districts. To address lack of adoption, this project designed and tested an outreach program for MnDOT offices in one district and worked with MnDOT to prepare an outreach plan to promote greater adoption and cost savings in the remaining offices in the state. The overall goal is to reduce blowing, and drifting, snow problems and associated costs in the state through an effective outreach program to MnDOT district offices and through them, to landowners. The objectives of the project were to 1) carry out a pre-promotion KAP (knowledge, attitudes, and practices) survey; 2) implement a snow-fence promotion program; 3) carry out a post-promotion KAP study; 4); based on the KAP study, design an outreach plan to promote installation of snow-fences and the associated cost savings and 5) assess the market and non-market value of different permanent and non-permanent snow-fence designs

Characteristics of Adults in the Hepatitis B Research Network in North America Reflect Their Country of Origin and Hepatitis B Virus Genotype

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an important cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide; populations that migrate to the US and Canada might be disproportionately affected. The Hepatitis B Research Network (HBRN) is a cooperative network of investigators from the United States and Canada, created to facilitate clinical, therapeutic, and translational research in adults and children with hepatitis B. We describe the structure of the network and baseline characteristics of adults with hepatitis B enrolled in the network

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries