Interdisciplinary Seminars| PHW 219| Holly Irby
Analysis Plan
Will Interdisciplinary Seminars given to Allied Health students at Vanderbilt University Medical Center increase student knowledge and collaboration with other health care professionals after graduation as compared to traditional classroom lectures within each Allied Health program?
Research Question
Aim #1: To assess the utility of providing a series of interdisciplinary seminars to Allied Health students at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in an effort to increase the students’ understanding of professional- and health care-related topics.
Aim #2: To determine if participants of the interdisciplinary seminars demonstrate better communication and increased collaboration with members of other health care professions after graduation.
Aims
Active participation in seminars
Faculty support
Communication and collaboration
Concepts
Question Topic Variable Type
Recode/Transformation Assesses
2 Felt encouraged to ask questions Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Ability to participate
3 Felt welcome to participate in discussion Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Ability to participate
4 Asked questions during seminar Nominal Total participation (∑4-7 or 8) Level of participation
5 Took notes Nominal Total participation (∑4-7 or 8) Level of participation
6 Discussed ideas or answered questions Nominal Total participation (∑4-7 or #8) Level of participation
7 Participated in activities during seminar Nominal Total participation (∑4-7 or #8) Level of participation
8 Did not actively participate Nominal Total participation (∑4-7 or #8) Level of participation
9 Able to provide summary of seminar topic Open-ended
Coded based on number of related items listed
Knowledge/recollection
10 Level of understanding after seminar Interval Change in knowledge (10-11) grouped as 0-5 and 6-10
Knowledge gained
11 Level of understanding before seminar Interval Change in knowledge (10-11) grouped as 0-5 and 6-10
Prior knowledge
Active Participation in Seminars—Student Survey
Question Topic Variable Type Recode/Transformation Assesses
13 Information of seminar provided by program director
Nominal Notification by faculty
14 Advanced notice of seminar Ordinal Collapse categories— < 1 week, > 1 week Notification by faculty
15 Number of announcements received
Ordinal Collapse categories—0-2, >3 Notification by faculty
16 Time out of class provided before seminar
Ordinal Collapse categories—0-15 minutes, 30-60 minutes Time allowed to attend by faculty
17 Time out of class provided after seminar
Ordinal Collapse categories—0-15 minutes, 30-60 minutes Time allowed to attend by faculty
18 Extra assignments required to make up time missed
Nominal Consequence of attending
19 List of extra assignments Open-ended Coded based on the type of extra assignment that must the completed (e.g. finding someone to take notes, coming in early or staying late to complete)
Amount/level of extra work required
Faculty Support in Seminars—Student Survey
Question Topic Variable Type
Recode/Transformation Assesses
1 Graduation from Vanderbilt or another facility Nominal Case or control group
5 Frequency of visiting/communicating with other departments
Ordinal Collapse categories—Up to 3 months, 6 months or greater
Amount of communication
6 Comfort in discussing work-related topics Interval Level of communication7 Comfort in discussing “friendly” topics Interval Level of communication
8 Describe basic job duties of other health professions Nominal Understanding of other professions
9 Ability of individuals from different professions to work together
Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Level of collaboration
10 Other professions respect the work in own profession Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Perceived respect from others
11 Need for cooperation with other profession Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Respect for other professions
12 Dependence on work of other professions Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Respect for other professions
13 Own profession has higher status than others Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Respect for other professions14 Own profession makes effort to understand others Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Willingness to collaborate15 Own profession willing to share information with others Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Willingness to collaborate16 Own profession thinks highly of others Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Perceived respect from others17 Other professions seek advice of own Ordinal Collapse categories—Yes, No Respect for other professions
Communication/Collaboration—Post-Graduate Survey
Allied Health Interdisciplinary
Seminars
Faculty support for student attendance
Understanding of various health
care professions roles/dispelling
stereotypes
Communication and collaboration with students of
other allied health programs
Understanding of professional- and
health care-related topics
Communication and collaboration with other health care professionals after graduation
Student participation in
seminars
Previous knowledge
Concept Model
Allied Health students will have an increased understanding of professional- and health care-related topics after attending the interdisciplinary seminars compared to their knowledge before the seminars.
Variables: – Ability to provide description of what was learned at seminar
Open-ended question
– Knowledge of information after attending seminar Interval
– Knowledge of information before attending seminar Interval
Aim #1: Descriptive Hypothesis
Test: Linear regression to compare the level of knowledge to the percentage of seminars attended– X: Percentage of seminars attended during program
– Y: Number of learned items listed
Two groups based on students’ perceived change in knowledge Change in knowledge grouped as:– 0-5: No or little change
– 6-10: A lot of change
Aim #1: Descriptive Hypothesis
The relationship of interdisciplinary seminars with student knowledge of topics related to health care and professionalism will be moderated by students’ previous knowledge and faculty support such that students who have prior related knowledge and have faculty support to attend the seminars will have an increased level of understanding of the information presented than students who lack one or more of these factors.
Variables:– Change in students’ perceived knowledge (based on difference in knowledge before seminar and after
seminar) Interval
– Seminar announced (including how far in advance and how many times) Ordinal
– Time allowed to attend (before and after) Ordinal
– Consequence of attending Nominal and open-ended
Aim #1: Moderation Hypothesis
Test: Odds ratio to determine if there is a relationship between faculty support and the level of knowledge gained from the Interdisciplinary Seminars– Calculate odds ratio for change in knowledge and faculty support of seminar
– Faculty support based on sum of related factors in survey
– Stratified by students’ perceived knowledge before the seminar
Aim #1: Moderation Hypothesis
The level of knowledge gained from the Allied Health interdisciplinary seminars will be mediated by student participation, leading to an increased understanding of professional- and health care-related topics.
Variables:– Encouraged to ask questions/participate
Nominal
– Levels of participation (including asking questions, taking notes, participating in discussion/activities, and none of the above) Ordinal
Aim # 1: Mediation Hypothesis
Test: Odds ratio to determine if there is a relationship between participation and an increase in understanding– Calculate odds ratio based on number of activities that are associated with
participation and the perceived change in students’ knowledge
– Stratify based on whether or not students felt welcomed or encouraged to answer questions or participate
Aim # 1: Mediation Hypothesis
Allied Health Students who participate in the interdisciplinary seminars will demonstrate an increased level of communication and collaboration with members of other health care professions after graduation as compared to hospital personnel who did not participate in interdisciplinary seminars.
Variables: – Frequency of communication/collaboration
Ordinal
– Comfort in discussing work-related/ “friendly” topics of conversation Interval
Aim #2: Descriptive Hypothesis
Test: Linear regression to compare the level of comfort in discussing work-related and “friendly” topics– X: Level of comfort in discussing “friendly” topics with other professions
– Y: Level of comfort in discussing work-related topics with other professions
Two groups based on Vanderbilt graduates and graduates from another facility
Aim #2: Descriptive Hypothesis
The relationship of interdisciplinary seminars with communication and collaboration post-graduation will be moderated by faculty support such that students who have faculty support to attend the seminars will have an increased level of communication and collaboration with other health care professionals after graduation than students who do not have faculty support to attend the seminars.
Variables:– Graduation from Vanderbilt or another facility
Nominal
– Announcement of seminars by program faculty Nominal
– Frequency of communication with other health care professions Ordinal
Aim #2: Moderation Hypothesis
Test: Odds ratio to identify any relationship between faculty support and level of communication with members of other health care professions – Stratify by Vanderbilt graduates and graduates from other facilities
Aim #2: Moderation Hypothesis
The Allied Health interdisciplinary seminars will increase the students’ understanding of the various health care professions that exist as well as dispel previously-held stereotypes about them. This understanding will lead to increased communication and collaboration between the Allied Health students, which will continue after they graduate and begin working in the hospital.
Variables:– Describe basic job duties
Nominal
– Level of perceived respect and collaboration among different professions (including ability to cooperate/communicate, dependence on each other, and respect for other professions) Ordinal
Aim # 2: Mediation Hypothesis
Test: Odds ratio to determine if there is a relationship between increased understanding of and communication with other health care programs as a student and communication and collaboration after graduation– Calculate odds ratio based on understanding of and respect for other professions
and frequency of communication
– Stratify by Vanderbilt graduates or graduates from other facilities
Aim # 2: Mediation Hypothesis
New program necessitates an implementation survey for analysis
At this point, the purpose is not to infer information about a general population
Little validated information exists about the utility of interdisciplinary seminars
Exploratory research
Reasoning Behind Survey Design and Testing
Benefits of Using REDCap Software in Survey Analysis
Frequency and Standard Deviation Capabilities
Data Quality
Coding
Top Related