A virtual community-of-practice approach by rural stakeholders in managing pneumoconiosis in the USA: a cross-sectional analysis

Rural and Remote Health

卷:20

Jolene Walker¹  Nour Assad²  Brian Soller³  Charles Pollard⁴  Rachelle Rochelle⁵  Akshay Sood⁶  William Jarrell⁶  Stephen Murillo⁶  Kyla Le Suer⁷  Sarah Salveson⁷  Orrin Myers⁷  Summers Kalishman⁸  Bruce Wissore⁹ 

[1] Northwest Wyoming Community Action Program, 2240, Coffeen Avenue, Suite A, Sheridan, WY 82801, USA;

[2] and Miners’ Colfax Medical Center, Raton, NM, USA;

[3] Black Lung Clinics;

[4] Critical Nurse Staffing, 1114 N. 1st Street, Suite 200, Grand Junction, CO 81501, USA;

[5] Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 1 University of New Mexico, MSC 10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;

[6] Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 1 University of New Mexico, MSC 10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;

[7] ECHO Institute, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, 1 University of New Mexico, MSC 10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;

[8] Miners’ Colfax Medical Center, 203 Hospital Drive, Raton, NM, USA;

[9] University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250-0001, USA;

关键词: black lung;    collective efficacy;    community of practice;    knowledge;    pneumoconiosis;    self-efficacy;   

DOI  :  10.22605/RRH5784

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Introduction:The re-emergence of pneumoconiosis, particularly among coal miners (ie black lung), in the USA is a challenge for rural communities because more miners require specialized care while expertise is scarce. The Miners' Wellness TeleECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) Clinic, jointly held by the University of New Mexico and a community hospital in New Mexico, provides structured telementoring to professionals caring for miners, including clinicians, respiratory therapists, home health professionals, benefits counselors, lawyers/attorneys and others, forming a virtual 'community of practice'. This approach has not been utilized and evaluated previously. Methods:The study's bimonthly program uses the ECHO telementoring model, which uses technology to leverage scarce mentoring resources; uses a disease-management model that is proven to improve outcomes in other disease states, by reducing variation in processes of care and sharing best practices; uses the principle of case-based learning with highly contextualized discussions, which fulfils key learning theory principles; creates a virtual community of practice; and uses an internet-based database to monitor outcomes. This 1-year cross-sectional study from September 2018 to September 2019 used geographical mapping of all attendee locations, web-based continuing medical education surveys completed by attendees using iECHO software, and a Research Electronic Data Capture-based survey of a convenience sample of participants, which obtained detailed information on demographics, knowledge, self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Knowledge sharing among participants was examined using insights and methods from social network analysis. Subgroup analysis involved comparisons between clinical and non-clinical professional groups, and between new and existing participants. Groups were compared using Fisher's exact test for categorical variables, and non-parametric Wilcoxon ranked sum test or student's t-test for continuous variables. Results:Participants were largely located in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots of the USA. In a convenience sample of 70 participants, clinical professional groups such as clinicians (29%), home health professionals (20%) and respiratory therapists (17%) constituted the majority of the stakeholders. Participants demonstrated the lowest knowledge score on 'legal pneumoconiosis' among the knowledge areas questioned; reported low self-efficacy with respect to managing miners' conditions and interpreting test results; and rated the learning community highly in terms of trust (86%), willingness to help each other (93%) and being closely knit (87%). Analysis of knowledge sources indicated that participants receive substantial proportions of knowledge from individuals outside of their stakeholder and professional groups, but proportions differ among clinical and non-clinical professional groups, as well as among 'fresh' and existing participants. Conclusion:The present study demonstrates the successful creation of a virtual multidisciplinary community of practice in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspot rural regions of the USA, with participants reporting multidisciplinary knowledge transfer. The community is regarded highly by participants in relation to trust, willingness to help and being closely knit. This innovative educational approach may help ensure the delivery of high-quality interdisciplinary care to rural miners in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots in the USA.

【 授权许可】

Unknown