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Introduction. Through a unique, inter-sectoral and interprofessional initiative, practitioners from education, health and social service sectors were invited to participate in communities of practice, facilitated online. The focus was on building workforce capacity to address the mental health needs of children and youth. Aim. This paper explores interprofessional workforce development by translating knowledge from a mental health promotion initiative developed overseas into the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Methods. Over a 6-month period, practitioners engaged in an iterative, capacity-building process, where they had access to the initiative materials and resources, shared practice stories, networked, and discussed barriers and facilitators for implementation. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to interpret data. Results. Members of the communities of practice engaged in storytelling and made sense of the initiative in relation to their previous knowledge and experiences: practice and thinking were validated. Mental health promotion was positioned as the responsibility of all sectors and the need for effective interprofessional collaboration was deemed essential. Furthermore, translation of the initiative into the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand demanded and deserved sustained attention. Discussion. This study contributes interprofessional and inter-sectoral evidence for building workforce capacity to address the mental health needs of children and youth. Further research is warranted to investigate the outcomes for the children and youth served. Interprofessional communities of practice were shown to provide a sustainable mechanism by which knowledge can be received, transformed and translated into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: Globally, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the need for better interprofessional collaboration and teamwork. When disciplines have worked together to undertake testing, deliver care and administer vaccines, progress against COVID-19 has been made. Yet, teamwork has often not happened, wasting precious resources and stretching health-care workforces. Continuing to train health professionals during the pandemic is challenging, particularly delivering interprofessional education that often uses face-to-face delivery methods to optimise interactional learning. Yet, continuing to offer interprofessional education throughout the pandemic is critical to ensure a collaboration-ready health workforce. One example is continuing the established INVOLVE (Interprofessional Visits to Learn Interprofessional Values through Patient Experience) interprofessional education initiative. ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM: Educators have not always prioritised interprofessional education during the pandemic, despite its immediate and long-term benefits. The INVOLVE interprofessional education initiative, usually delivered face-to-face, was at risk of cancellation. RESULTS: A quality improvement analysis of the strategies used to continue INVOLVE demonstrated that it is possible to deliver interprofessional education within the constraints of a pandemic by using innovative online and hybrid educational strategies. Educators and students demonstrated flexibility in responding to the sudden changes in teaching and learning modalities. STRATEGIES: When pandemic alert levels change, interprofessional educators and administrators can now choose from a repertoire of teaching approaches. LESSONS: Four key lessons have improved the performance and resilience of INVOLVE: hold the vision to continue interprofessional education; be nimble; use technology appropriately; and there will be silver linings and unexpected benefits to the changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]