Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration and adaptation of e-health are necessary to implement innovative exercise and nutrition interventions in health practice. The aims of this qualitative study were 1) determine the relevant factors related to successful interprofessional collaboration, and 2) determine the relevant factors for implementation and susceptibility of our blended interventions in older adults, by allied health professionals in the Amsterdam metropolitan region.Methods: This explorative qualitative study was the next step in implementation, subsequent to the VITAMIN RCT. In total 45 physiotherapy and 27 dietician practices were selected for recruitment. We combined fourteen semistructuredinterviews with dieticians with two focus-groups of mixed exercise- and physiotherapists. After each focus-group and interview the two researchers evaluated and discussed the statements, factors and common believes in relation to the research questions. Transcripts were analyzed with MAXQDA software, and open, axial and selective coding was adapted by two independent researchers. A third researcher was available if consensus could not be reached.Results: In current practice interprofessional collaboration is not common, mainly due to lacking knowledge about the other profession. Location is a facilitator, as well is previous experience. External factors as higher financialcompensation to implement interprofessional work meetings were defined as possible facilitator to collaboration. The professionals defined a shared electronic patient database as necessity to interprofessional collaboration,especially due to the privacy regulations. Main encouraging factors related to blended interventions were timesaving consults, ability to reach immobile older adults, and cost saving healthcare. Main barrier was lacking e-health literacyof older adults.Conclusions: This study shows that the exercise and nutrition professionals have a positive attitude towards future implementation of these types of blended and combined interventions for older adults. Furthermore, interprofessional collaboration is a point of attention in our regional allied healthcare system. Several external factors related to implementation, like financial compensation, make the adaptation of combined interventions with e-health for older adults challenging.
Transitions in health care and the increasing pace at which technological innovations emerge, have led to new professional approach at the crossroads of health care and technology. In order to adequately deal with these transition processes and challenges before future professionals access the labour market, Fontys University of Applied Sciences is in a transition to combining education with interdisciplinary practice-based research. Fontys UAS is launching a new centre of expertise in Health Care and Technology, which is a new approach compared to existing educational structures. The new centre is presented as an example of how new initiatives in the field of education and research at the intersection of care and technology can be shaped.
Background: Determining what constitutes an excellent allied health care professional (AHCP) is important, since this is what will guide the development of curricula for training future physical therapists, oral hygienists, speech therapists, diagnostic radiographers, and dietitians. This also determines the quality of care.Aim: To describe perspectives of AHCPs on which characteristics are commonly associated with an excellent AHCP.Methods: AHCPs’ perspectives were derived from three focus group discussions. Twenty-one health care professionals participated. The final analysis of the focus group discussions produced eight domains, in which content validity was obtained through a Delphi panel survey of 27 contributing experts.Results: According to the survey, a combination of the following characteristics defines an excellent AHCP: (1) cognizance, to obtain and to apply knowledge in a broad multidisciplinary health care field; (2) cooperativity, to effectively work with others in a multidisciplinary con¬text; (3) communicative, to communicate effectively at different levels in complex situations; (4) initiative, to initiate new ideas, to act proactively, and to follow them through; (5) innovative, to devise new ideas and to implement alternatives beyond current practices; (6) introspective, to self-examine and to reflect; (7) broad perspective, to capture the big picture; and (8) evidence-driven, to find and to use scientific evidence to guide one’s decisions.Conclusion: The AHCPs perspectives can be used as a reference for personal improvement for supervisors and professionals in clinical practice and for educational purposes. These perspectives may serve as a guide against which talented students can evaluate themselves.
