Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Educational Program to Foster Learning Health Systems: Education Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Education
• Interprofessional Learning

Background:

• Learning health systems (LHS) require a skilled interprofessional informatics workforce for real-time data utilization.
• A gap exists in tailored professional development for digital health in Australia's healthcare sector.
• There is a need to foster interprofessional learning communities within the healthcare workforce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore participant experiences in a 13-week interprofessional education program.
• To assess the benefits, barriers, and opportunities for improvement in digital health training.
• To identify future applications of digital health course materials.

Main Methods:

• A wholly online, flipped classroom model was used for 400 interdisciplinary health professionals.
• Participants engaged in pre-class online learning and live synchronous Zoom workshops.
• Mixed methods evaluation included pre- and post-surveys on usefulness, engagement, value, applicability, and self-efficacy, alongside weekly feedback.

Main Results:

• Participants found the online teaching model engaging, useful, valuable, and applicable to their work.
• A significant increase (P<.001) in perceived self-efficacy was observed across all topics post-course.
• The program provided a framework for knowledge organization, a common language for interdisciplinary communication, and a toolkit for applying LHS principles.

Conclusions:

• The program effectively educates the health workforce on integrating the learning health systems (LHS) model into practice.
• Interprofessional collaborative learning was a key component of the program's value.
• Addressing challenges in digital health education is crucial for enhancing participant engagement and successful integration of digital health solutions.