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Interprofessional health care students' confidence toward addressing the social determinants of health for older adults through telehealth

Odiaga JA, Little LM, Gierlowski T, Souza S, Taylor S
Gerontol Geriatr Educ

There has been a call to action to integrate the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) into health care education including interprofessional education. This brief describes a large-scale online interprofessional educational curriculum where students focus on SDoH of older adults through patient-centered, collaborative telehealth experiences. The curriculum was delivered to students (n = 417) from 17 programs within the Colleges of Health Sciences, Medicine, and Nursing at a large Midwestern academic medical center. Students completed all curricular activities in interprofessional teams, composed of five-six students with at least four professions. Student teams completed a series of three telehealth sessions over a 12-week period with 73 older adults living in communities (i.e. Community Health Mentors [CHMs]). CHMs' average age was 71.2 years and all were living with at least one or more chronic conditions. Students completed the Self-Reported Competence Identifying and Addressing SDoH before telehealth training and upon completion of the telehealth sessions. Students demonstrated significant increases in perceived confidence within the four SDoH competency domains: 1) identifying, 2) addressing, and referral to both 3) internal and 4) external resources. Reflection, faculty, and client feedback enhanced the student learning experience and outcomes.

Odiaga JA, Little LM, Gierlowski T, Souza S, Taylor S. Interprofessional health care students' confidence toward addressing the social determinants of health for older adults through telehealth. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2024:1-7. DOI:10.1080/02701960.2024.2426132. PMID: 39531367

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Publication year
Resource type
Peer Reviewed Research
Outcomes
Provider Experience of Care
Population
Elderly
Health Care Professionals
Social Determinant of Health
Not Specified
Study design
Other Study Design