Italian version of the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale II (I-AITCS II): a multiphase study of validity and reliability amongst healthcare providers

Analyzing readiness for interprofessional education among health program students using hierarchical clustering

This study employs a clustering approach to assess the readiness for interprofessional education (IPE) among students enrolled in health-related study programs in Albania. Among a sample of 1470 students, complete data were available for 1383 participants, while 87 cases had missing data. Three distinct clusters were identified using hierarchical clustering analysis based on age and readiness domains: Teamwork (TW) and Professional Practice Identity (PPI). The average scores for TW and PPI were 4.4 ± 0.51 and 4.3 ± 0.51, respectively. Cluster A, consisting of 123 students, exhibited lower scores in both domains and a higher proportion of male students, while Clusters B (846 students) and C (414 students) demonstrated greater readiness for IPE and a higher representation of female students. These findings highlight varying perceptions and values associated with IPE across genders and health-related study programs, emphasizing the necessity for tailored and gender-aware IPE-enhancing interventions. Furthermore, our research underscores the importance of introducing IPE early in the healthcare curriculum and utilizing student clustering to tailor interventions, thus laying the foundation for broader research endeavors. Future studies are recommended to delve deeper into these results and assess the effectiveness of tailored interventions based on this approach in fostering readiness for IPE.

Validation and reliability assessment of the Persian Adaptation of the Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale II (P-AITCS-II) for Iranian healthcare providers

The primary objective of this study was to perform a psychometric evaluation of the Persian adaptation of the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (P-AITCS-II). This methodological study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the AITCS-II for practitioners within the Iranian healthcare context. Data were collected from a sample of 230 Iranian healthcare providers between May and June 2024. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good model fit indices (χ2 = 540.20, df = 224, χ2/df = 2.41, CFI = 0.917, IFI = 0.918, TLI = 0.907, PNFI = 0.768, PCFI = 0.812, and RMSEA = 0.079 [CI90% 0.070-0.087]). These results confirm the validity of the P-AITCS-II model. Additionally, the internal consistency and composite reliability of the three factors were higher than 0.7. Convergent validity was considered acceptable for the P-AITCS-II, as the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was greater than 0.5. The Persian adaptation of the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale II (P-AITC-II), consisting of 23 items within three factors-partnership, cooperation, and coordination-demonstrated good validity and reliability. However, further research is needed to confirm its robustness and usefulness for improving interprofessional team collaboration.

Barriers perceived by university faculty in implementing interprofessional education: A scoping review protocol

Interprofessional Education (IPE) enhances collaboration among health professionals and improves patient care. Despite its benefits, university implementation of IPE is limited due to various barriers perceived by faculty members. Identifying these barriers is crucial for developing strategies to integrate IPE into higher education curricula. This scoping review protocol outlines a study to map and synthesize literature on barriers perceived by university faculty in implementing IPE, aiming to inform future interventions and research. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a comprehensive search will be conducted across databases including PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar without time restrictions. All types of publications focusing on faculty-perceived barriers to IPE will be included. Data extraction and analysis will involve thematic synthesis and advanced topic modeling using the OCTIS framework to identify key themes and patterns. The review will provide an overview of the types of barriers faced by faculty, their causes, and proposed strategies to overcome them, offering valuable insights for enhancing IPE integration in university settings.•The scoping review will map existing literature on faculty-perceived barriers to implementing Interprofessional Education.•Advanced topic modeling with the OCTIS framework will be utilized to analyze and synthesize findings.•The outcomes aim to inform strategies for effective IPE integration in higher education curricula.

Increasing interprofessional collaboration in community-based palliative care: a pilot study of the CAPACITI education program for primary care providers

Interprofessional collaboration in palliative care is essential to ensuring high-quality care for seriously ill patients. Education interventions to increase competency in palliative care should incorporate team-building skills to encourage an interprofessional approach. We developed and piloted a virtual educational program named CAPACITI for interprofessional teams to promote a community palliative approach to care. Primary care teams from across Ontario, Canada, participated in CAPACITI which consisted of 10 facilitated sessions that emphasized how to operationalize a palliative care approach as a team. Pre- and post-study questionnaires were completed by each team, including the AITCS-II, a validated instrument that measures interprofessional collaboration. We analyzed individual paired differences in summary scores and in each of three subdomains of the AITCS-II questionnaire: partnership, cooperation, and coordination. Seventeen teams completed the AITCS-II post survey, representing 133 participants. Teams varied demographically and ranged from 5 to 16 members. After CAPACITI, the overall mean AITCS-II summary score among teams increased to 96.0 (SD = 10.0) for a significant paired mean difference increase of 9.4 (p = .03). There were also significant increases in the partnership (p = .01) and in the cooperation subdomains (p = .04). CAPACITI demonstrated the potential for improving collaboration among primary care teams, which can lead to improved provider and patient outcomes in palliative care.

Describing the readiness for interprofessional education among university students attending healthcare programs: insights from a monocentric cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Readiness for interprofessional education (IPE) was recognized by international authorities as a key approach for educating students attending healthcare programs. Thus far, there are no descriptions of readiness for IPE in the Albanian context. For this reason, this study aimed to describe readiness for IPE, assessed by measuring "teamwork and collaboration" and "positive professional identity, roles, and responsibilities" among students attending healthcare programs in an Italian-speaking university based in Albania, and describe the correlations between readiness for IPE and the characteristics of the respondents.

METHODS

This study had a descriptive observational design, a cross-sectional data collection, and a convenience sampling procedure performed in a single centre. The study was accomplished between April 2020 and June 2021, involving 688 students, 38.2% of the entire population of students attending healthcare programs in the context of the investigation.

RESULTS

The teamwork and collaboration mean score was 4.40 (standard deviation = 0.56), and no differences were found between programs (p-value=0.159). The positive professional identity, roles, and responsibilities mean score was 4.33 (standard deviation = 0.64) with no differences between programs (p-value=0.340). Females attending nursing or midwifery reported higher positive professional identity, roles, and responsibilities scores (p-value=0.020), and females in dentistry reported higher teamwork and collaboration scores than males (p-value=0.045).

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should evaluate readiness for IPE longitudinally to ascertain its trajectories over time and analyze any potential individual- or organizational-level variables that may impact IPE and sex-related differences regarding factors influencing IPE.

Italian Translation and Validation of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) in an Undergraduate Healthcare Student Context

Interprofessional education requires that two or more professionals learn from and with each other to allow effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Thus far, the interprofessional collaboration of healthcare students might be assessed using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), which is currently not available in its Italian version. This study aimed to provide the intercultural adaptation of the RIPLS in Italian (I-RIPLS) and assess its validity and reliability. A two-phase validation study was performed in 2020, using a single-centre approach in students enrolled in the medical degree, physiotherapy, nursing, and dentistry courses at an Italian-speaking university in Albania. The first phase of the study determined the cross-cultural adaptation of the items by involving two translators who followed a forward and backward translation process. In the second phase, a sample of 414 students was enrolled. The preliminary corrected item-total correlations showed that five items did not show significant item-to-total correlations. Even if their deletion was not mandatory for generating a suitable correlation matrix for factor analysis, the advantages of keeping only items contributing to a more stable measurement with a shorter scale represented the rationale for removing items with non-significant item-to-total correlation from the correlation matrix before testing the dimensionality of the I-RIPLS with factor analysis. The answers from the first 50% of responders (n = 207) were used to determine the most plausible dimensionality of the I-RIPLS by employing an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the second 50% were used to cross-validate the most plausible dimensionality derived from EFA by employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models. The most plausible dimensionality from EFA, by acknowledging the interpretation of the scree plot, the eigenvalues greater than 1, a parallel analysis, and the previous theoretical dimensions of the tool had two factors with adequate internal consistency. The CFA confirmed the two-factor solutions and the internal consistency for each domain. The I-RIPLS has 14 items with adequate evidence of validity and reliability. Future research should revise the tool for pursuing cross-cultural multigroup measurement invariance.

Re-evaluation of the interprofessional collaboration scale validation between nurses towards other health care professionals occupied in Italian emergency medical services

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between health professionals is fundamental for the provision of an efficient and effective medical care service. This is especially so in states of emergency, as highlighted by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study aimed to obtain further evidence regarding the validity and reliability of the Italian language IPC scale -an instrument for measuring interprofessional collaboration- in a setting that has yet to be investigated at an in-depth level: the emergency departments in Italian hospitals.

METHODS

The survey tool was a structured questionnaire in the Italian language. It comprised the validated Italian version of the IPC scale plus a question concerning the frequency of collaborations between the nurses interviewed and other health professionals. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to rate the three factors ("communication", "accommodation" and "isolation") that compose the scale.

RESULTS

Four hundred thirty-six nurses working in an emergency department for at least one year completed the questionnaire, which assessed collaboration with other health professionals working in the same department. The model fit statistics are satisfactory for all the nurse-target group combinations analysed. Regarding the Cronbach's alpha statistic used to compute the reliability of the scale, acceptable values were obtained for all items, except for those related to the isolation factor for each case of interprofessional collaboration considered.

CONCLUSIONS

The results confirm the validity of the IPC scale as an instrument for the assessment of interprofessional collaboration involving nurses and other workers occupied in the provision of healthcare in Italian emergency departments.

The cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Nurse-Nurse Collaboration Scale in Italy

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Collaboration between colleagues is an essential element of clinical nursing care because it helps to ensure patient safety. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the XXX version of the Nurse-Nurse Collaboration Scale (NNCS). The secondary goal of this study was to assess the degree of collaboration between nurses in Italy.

METHODS

First, the cultural adaptation of the NNCS tool was performed. The face and content validity of the tool were assessed through the involvement of nursing experts. To test construct validity, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 362 nurses.

RESULTS

The Italian version of the NNCS was composed of 23 items distributed across five domains. The five-dimensional model showed an adequate model goodness of fit (RMSEA=0.075, CFI=0.883, SRMR=0.072). The NNCS dimension with the highest average score was Professionalism (M=3.10 ± 0.45), while Conflict Management (M=2.14 ± 0.47) exhibited the lowest score.

CONCLUSIONS

The Italian version of the NNCS is a valid and reliable tool. More effort should be made to ensure the proper management of conflicts in healthcare environments.

The effects of a structured educational program on preparedness for self-employed careers in Italian undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

In the Italian and also international contexts, there is a paucity of evidence testing whether a structured educational intervention delivered from remote might be useful in increasing the levels of preparedness for self-employed careers among third-year nursing students, despite freelance nursing careers are a promising component of the current labour market. This study aimed to test the effects of a structured educational program on the preparedness for self-employed careers in Italian undergraduate nursing students.

METHODS

The study was quasi-experimental and nonrandomized and employed a pre/post-intervention approach with convenience sampling. Data were collected before the structured education program was delivered (T0) and up to one day after the instruction was delivered (T1).

RESULTS

In this study, 717 third-year nursing students were enrolled. The most significant difference between T0 and T1 was in the domain of knowledge about pensions and retirement issues, followed by administrative rules knowledge. There were substantial variations between T0 and T1 in the area of logistic characteristics in determining the price of a freelance nursing activity, as well as scores in the domain of care complexity in determining the price of the independent nursing occupation.

CONCLUSIONS

This study proved the short-term impacts of a structured educational program on enhancing levels of preparation for self-employed professions among Italian undergraduate nursing students. This topic requires more attention as the demands of prepared healthcare workers to undertake self-employed careers necessitate a greater capacity to properly educate nursing students for self-employed occupations within their undergraduate path.

A complex interprofessional intervention to improve the management of painful procedures in neonates

During hospitalization, neonates are exposed to a stressful environment and a high number of painful procedures. If pain is not treated adequately, short‐ and long‐term complications may develop. Despite evidence about neonatal pain and available guidelines, procedural pain remains undertreated. This gap between research and practice is mostly due to limited implementation of evidence‐based knowledge and time constraints. This study describes in detail the development process of a complex interprofessional intervention to improve the management of procedural pain in neonates called NEODOL© (NEOnato DOLore). The framework of the Medical Research Council (MRC) for the development and evaluation of complex interventions was used as a methodological guide for the design of the NEODOL© intervention. The development of the intervention is based on several steps and multiple methods. To report this process, we used the Criteria for Reporting the Development of Complex Interventions in Healthcare (CReDECI 2). Additionally, we evaluated the content of the intervention using a Delphi method to obtain consensus from experts, stakeholders, and parents. The complex interprofessional intervention, NEODOL©, is developed and designed for three groups: healthcare professionals, parents, and neonates for a level IIb neonatal unit at a regional hospital in southern Switzerland. A total of 16 panelists participated in the Delphi process. At the end of the Delphi process, the panelists endorsed the NEODOL© intervention as important and feasible. Following the MRC guidelines, a multimethod process was used to develop a complex interprofessional intervention to improve the management of painful procedures in newborns. Complex interprofessional interventions need theoretical bases, careful development, and integration of stakeholders to provide a comprehensive approach. The NEODOL intervention consists of promising components and has the potential to improve the management of painful procedures and should facilitate the knowledge translation into practice.

Interprofessional Collaboration and Involvement of Parents in the Management of Painful Procedures in Newborns

Introduction: Newborns are subject to many painful procedures. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches alone are not enough, and it is necessary to consider other contributing elements such as the environment, interprofessional collaboration and parental involvement. The aim of this feasibility study was to explore interprofessionality and the role of parents in improving the management of painful procedures in newborns and pain management strategies. Materials and Methods: a pre-post feasibility study using a mixed method approach was conducted. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were used to describe the parents' views on their child's pain management and involvement in care as well as to explore the level of interprofessionality and feasibility. Results: Collaboration between physicians and nurses improved following the implementation of a complex interprofessional intervention involving professionals, parents and newborns. In spite of improving professional collaboration in procedural pain management, parents were attributed a passive role or only marginally involved in in the infant's pain management. However, parents stated-as elicited by the questionnaires and interviews-that they wished to receive more information and be included in painful procedures executed on their infant. Discussion: Management of painful procedures in neonates needs to be changed. Interprofessional collaboration contributes to improved procedural pain management in neonates. It is essential to include parents as active members in the interprofessional healthcare team.

Individual-level determinants of interprofessional team collaboration in healthcare

Interprofessional team collaboration (ITC) is pivotal for the safety and the quality of healthcare settings, being associated with higher staff and patient satisfaction. However, individual-level determinants (i.e. socio-demographic and working satisfaction) remain currently largely unexplored. This study aimed to describe the overall ITC (i.e. partnership, cooperation, coordination), identifying the individual-level determinants of each ITC domain. This study had a multicentre approach, using cross-sectional data collection. ITC was assessed using the Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale II, Italian version (I-AITCS II). The determinants of ITC were investigated through multivariable linear regression models. The study results showed significant associations between the same ITC domains, as well as the important role of work satisfaction in determining cooperation and coordination. Physicians reported more inadequate partnership levels than other healthcare professionals. This study provides insights for future research and gives a useful description of the determinants of ITC for multi-stakeholder healthcare organizations.