Interprofessional Resource Centre: a knowledge translation strategy

Abstract

Christine Patterson1,2, Julie Vohra1, David Price3, Gladys Peachey1, Heather Arthur1,4, Patricia Ellis1, Rob Mariani5, Paul Dymel5, Ellen Spencer5, Kevin Timms5, Ellis Westwood51School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 2Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 3Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 4Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Michael G. DeGroote Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 5Ascentum, Ottawa, ON, CanadaAbstract: The Interprofessional Resource Centre (IRC) was based on an extensive literature search and a provincial consultative process that involved administrators, health care providers, educators, preceptors, and alternative and complementary health care providers from different disciplines. Information from the literature review was synthesized into a logic model that served as a preliminary outline for the IRC to be further developed during the stakeholder consultation. The findings from the literature were triangulated with the opinions of different groups of key stakeholders who participated in three different methods of data collection: 1) a large-scale deliberative survey, 2) an in-person dialogue, and 3) targeted questionnaires. The result of this process was an online tool that presents information on what needs to be considered when planning interprofessional practice and education within an organization with the purpose of: 1) building capacity within agencies for interprofessional, collaborative practice; 2) providing preceptors with educational strategies to develop interprofessional competencies in their students; 3) promoting the use of technology as a strategy for knowledge transfer within the agencies and between educational institutions; and 4) developing an evaluation plan to measure interprofessional practice and education.Keywords: interprofessional teams, health care delivery, change