Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training 2.0: A collaborative team-based approach to delivering care

Area of Science:

• Geriatric medicine
• Interprofessional healthcare education
• Health services research

Background:

• Optimal care for older adults with multiple chronic conditions requires interprofessional collaboration.
• The current healthcare climate necessitates effective interprofessional education and practice.
• The Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training 2.0 (GITT 2.0) program was developed to address these needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and impact of the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training 2.0 (GITT 2.0) program.
• To assess the program's effect on graduate students' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration when caring for complex older adults.
• To identify areas for program refinement based on participant feedback.

Main Methods:

• A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design was employed for program implementation and evaluation.
• 65 graduate students from nursing, midwifery, social work, and pharmacy participated over three years (2013-2016).
• Participants completed pre- and post-intervention surveys on interprofessional collaboration attitudes and engaged in focus groups.

Main Results:

• Quantitative analysis showed no significant change in participants' attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration.
• Qualitative data from focus groups indicated enhanced perspectives and changes in communication language among participants.
• The GITT 2.0 Toolkit was refined based on evaluation findings for future use.

Conclusions:

• The GITT 2.0 program demonstrates feasibility in enhancing interprofessional perspectives for complex geriatric care.
• While quantitative attitude shifts were not observed, qualitative improvements in understanding and communication are significant.
• The refined GITT 2.0 Toolkit can support quality initiatives in interprofessional education and practice for geriatric populations.