SAME/FAME (Self-Advocates/Family Advocates as Medical Educators) FY2023: Outcomes and Lessons Learned
Poster Description:
Background: Adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) are a significantly underserved population in terms of health care. People with I/DD experience consequences from the lack of preparation most health profession students have in working with people with these disabilities. People with I/DD frequently have adverse experiences in medical settings and many practicing care providers lack confidence in treating people with I/DD. At the same time, many family members are involved in providing care for people with I/DD throughout the lifespan. Family caregivers are often intimately involved in the healthcare of their family members with I/DD. However, healthcare professionals may experience confusion and uncertainty about the role of family caregivers. More work needs to be done to improve the developmental disability-related education of future health care providers.
Design: The SAME/FAME (Self Advocates and Family Advocates as Medical Educators) virtual training offers a collaborative, interdisciplinary educational experience for health profession preservice learners that aims to improve learners’ knowledge, confidence, and attitudes about people with I/DD and family caregivers, with a specific focus on IPEC competency 3, Communication. The 6-hour training includes elements of Team Based Learning, a four-hour asynchronous didactic online component, I-RAT (Individual Readiness Assessment Test) and T-RAT (Team Readiness Assessment Test), a virtual simulation provided by simulated patients and caregivers played by people with lived experience of I/DD and family caregiving, reflection, debrief, and feedback.
Methods: Learners completed pre- and post-simulation evaluation surveys assessing change in knowledge, confidence, and attitudes when providing care to patients with I/DD and their families across nine measures. Surveys also included demographic and continuous quality improvement questions. Descriptive, chi-square, and fisher exact statistics were performed as appropriate. Qualitative free response questions were assessed thematically.
Results: Preliminary evaluation results collected from nine trainings indicate significant improvements in attitudes, knowledge, and confidence across seven of the nine key measures. Preservice student learners (n = 86) represented the disciplines nursing (57.0%), medicine (24.4%), allied health (10.5%) pharmacy (4.7%), social work (2.3%), and public health (1.2%). The majority of participants were white (77.5%) and non-Hispanic (90.7%). The training was highly acceptable to the learner population with 97.0% of respondents reporting they were satisfied with SAME/FAME.
Conclusion: Partnering with people with lived experience of I/DD and family caregiving in the development and delivery of interdisciplinary training can be effective in improving preservice health profession learners’ knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards people with I/DD and family caregivers.
