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Understanding the supports and constraints available in rural communities is integral to the education of professionals who choose to practise in rural settings. Previous research has indicated that many professionals do not have an accurate understanding of rural contexts and how rural settings impact personal life and professional practice. To address this gap, an interprofessional course centring on professional practice in rural and remote communities was developed. This course was designed to be reflective of rural practice, not only in content but also in the way the course was delivered. Findings from this case study indicated that students' understanding of the complexity of rural settings was enhanced on multiple levels. The interactive and experiential nature of the course allowed students to develop working relationships that increased both their understanding of the value of interprofessional collaboration as well as the professional opportunities that are available in rural areas.

BackgroundThe considerable rise of mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on the public health sector and economy. To meet the overwhelming and growing demand for mental health care, innovative approaches must be employed to significantly expand mental health care delivery capacity. Although it is not feasible to increase the number of mental health care providers or hours they work in the short term, improving their time efficiency may be a viable solution. Virtually and digitally delivering psychotherapy, which has been shown to be efficient and clinically effective, might be a good method for addressing this growing demand. ObjectiveThis research protocol aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of using an online, digital, asynchronous care model to treat mental health issues that are started or aggravated by stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThis nonrandomized controlled trial intervention will be delivered through the Online Psychotherapy Tool, a secure, cloud-based, digital mental health platform. Participants will be offered a 9-week electronically delivered cognitive behavioral therapy program that is tailored to address mental health problems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program will involve weekly self-guided educational material that provides an overview of behavioral skills and weekly homework. Participants (N=80) will receive personalized feedback from and weekly interaction with a therapist throughout the course of the program. The efficacy of the program will be evaluated using clinically validated symptomology questionnaires, which are to be completed by participants at baseline, week 5, and posttreatment. Inclusion criteria includes the capacity to consent; a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, with symptoms that started or worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic; the ability to speak and read English; and consistent and reliable access to the internet. Exclusion criteria includes active psychosis, acute mania, severe alcohol or substance use disorder, and active suicidal or homicidal ideation. ResultsThis study received funding in May 2020. Ethics approval was received in June 2020. The recruitment of participants began in June 2020. Participant recruitment is being conducted via social media, web-based communities, and physician referrals. To date, 58 participants have been recruited (intervention group: n=35; control group: n=23). Data collection is expected to conclude by the end of 2020. Analyses (ie, linear regression analysis for continuous outcomes and binomial regression analysis for categorical outcomes) are expected to be completed by February 2021. ConclusionsIf proven feasible, this care delivery method could increase care capacity by up to fourfold. The findings from this study can potentially influence clinical practices and policies and increase accessibility to care during the COVID-19 pandemic, without sacrificing the quality of care. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04476667; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04476667 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/24913

Action research in the critical paradigm involves a process of continual refection in and on action including the research process itself. In the second in a series of several papers we report on the day-to-day management of the QUIPPED project. The aim was to facilitate patient centred care through inter-professional collaboration with health care learners at a Canadian university. Reflections of the continuum from early conceptualization of the project in 2004 through to lessons learned in 2008 are described. Key components include the importance of team development, overall coordination, and attention to logistical and structural issues are explored. The importance of learner driven initiatives as well as the need to prepare faculty for inter-professional teaching cannot be emphasized enough. (Contains 2 figures.)

"The Lived Experience of Disability" course matches first year occupational therapy students with mentors, individuals with health challenges, for a series of community visits. This learning relationship facilitates students' understanding of disability and client-centred practice. Mentors share expertise of their lived experience; students consider personal attitudes, assumptions and knowledge of disability and their future client-therapist relationships. Findings of a qualitative research study using a case study approach reveal that students engaged in interactive course components that comprised reflective practice, mentor visits, and critical involvement in a community of practice. These experiential and collaborative interactions provided pedagogical conditions for building relational knowing and critical reflection, which contributed to new and meaningful transformative learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative practice is receiving increased attention as a model of healthcare delivery that positively influences the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care while improving the work environment of healthcare providers. The collaborative practice assessment tool (CPAT) was developed from the literature to enable interprofessional teams to assess their collaborative practice. The CPAT survey included 56 items across nine domains including: mission and goals; relationships; leadership; role responsibilities and autonomy; communication; decision-making and conflict management; community linkages and coordination; perceived effectiveness and patient involvement; in addition to three open-ended questions. The tool was developed for use in a variety of settings involving a diversity of healthcare providers with the aim of helping teams to identify professional development needs and corresponding educational interventions. The results of two pilot tests indicated that the CPAT is a valid and reliable tool for assessing levels of collaborative practice within teams. This article describes the development of the tool, the pilot testing and validation process, as well as limitations of the tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success factors and challenges of interorganizational collaboration have been widely studied from different disciplinary perspectives. However, the role of design in making such collaborations resilient has received little attention, although deliberately designing for resilience is likely to be vital to the success of any interorganizational collaboration. This study explores the resilience of interorganizational collaboration by means of a comparative case study of Dutch maternity care providers, which have been facing major challenges due to financial cutbacks, government-enforced collaborative structures, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings make two contributions to the literature. First, we further develop the construct of interorganizational resilience. Second, we shed light on how well-designed distributed decision-making enhances resilience, thereby making a first attempt at meeting the challenge of designing for interorganizational resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People whom the author would like to thank for their assistance in the creation of the journal are mentioned including Rene Almeling, Lorenzo Beltrame, and Kean Birch.