INTERDISCIPLINARY AND PREVENTIVE CARE FOR OLDER ADULTS AND CHILDREN DWELLING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY

Bender DG, Gurka JA, Cole PJ, Stanley RK; University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, Baltimore, MD, [...]
PURPOSE: Persons living in rural areas have unique health concerns, which may not be adequately addressed if their care is provided by using a multidisciplinary medical model. This presentation describes a program designed to teach students how to work as an interdisciplinary team in order to implement preventive health care programs in a rural area. DESCRIPTION: For the past two years, a course funded by the state's rural Area Health Education Center (AHEC) titled 'Interdisciplinary Prevention in Rural Communities' has been offered to students representing five different health care disciplines. Throughout the summer, interdisciplinary teams of students had bimonthly classes and fieldwork at the rural area served by the AHEC agency. Faculty members from each of the disciplines offered lectures and team building activities on topics such as group process, conflict resolution and health care delivery in rural settings. Students were paired with a local senior center or Headstart center, and worked closely with each center's coordinator to identify the specific health needs of its population. Coordinators discussed the outcomes of the interventions designed during the first year of the grant, and identified any changes in the overall health of the clientele. The student groups either continued with a previously implemented program or developed a new program to address a more recently identified need. Students used the Internet for all planning sessions, and ended the semester by presenting interactive educational workshops for the staff and clients at each of the sites. OBSERVATIONS: Interdisciplinary care and communication using technology will be essential components to the delivery of rural care. This course provided the students with a first hand opportunity to deal with the realities of offering health care in a rural setting. They enjoyed the opportunity to share knowledge about their own profession, while gaining a better understanding of how the disciplines can effectively work together to achieve a shared outcome. Information from the student's reflective journals showed that although the experience was very positive, it opened the student's eyes to the many inequalities that presently exist in health care accessibility. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for physical therapy students to learn to work closely with other disciplines. Exposure to specific rural care issues, plus an example of how the use of technology to implement a team approach might prevent professional isolation, is expected to foster more student interest in providing care to this under-served patient population after graduation.