Browsing by Subject "Project ECHO"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Examining the Efficacy of Project ECHO to Improve Clinicians' Knowledge and Preparedness to Treat Adolescent Vaping
    (Sage, 2022-06-30) Oliver , Alexander P.; Bell , Lauren A.; Agley , Jon; Bixler , Kristina; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Adams, Zachary W.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    As adolescent vaping reaches epidemic rates in the United States, it is imperative that pediatric clinicians have access to medical knowledge on best practices for screening, assessing, and treating vaping-related substance use. The Teen Vaping ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) program was developed to offer practical learning sessions focused on clinical management of adolescent vaping. This study describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program’s impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding treatment of adolescent vaping from registration to the end of the series. Participants were generally knowledgeable about vaping at registration and reported significant increases in comfort talking with patients about vaping, counseling patients on nicotine replacement products, and frequency of implementing best-practice screening strategies at the end of the series. This study suggests ECHO programs focused on improving clinical management of adolescent vaping may increase accessibility of evidence-based care and reduce harms associated with vaping in youth.
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    Examining the Efficacy of Project ECHO to Improve Clinicians’ Knowledge and Preparedness to Treat Adolescent Vaping
    (Sage, 2022) Oliver, Alexander P.; Bell, Lauren A.; Agley, Jon; Bixler, Kristina; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Adams, Zachary W.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    As adolescent vaping reaches epidemic rates in the United States, it is imperative that pediatric clinicians have access to medical knowledge on best practices for screening, assessing, and treating vaping-related substance use. The Teen Vaping ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) program was developed to offer practical learning sessions focused on clinical management of adolescent vaping. This study describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program’s impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding treatment of adolescent vaping from registration to the end of the series. Participants were generally knowledgeable about vaping at registration and reported significant increases in comfort talking with patients about vaping, counseling patients on nicotine replacement products, and frequency of implementing best-practice screening strategies at the end of the series. This study suggests ECHO programs focused on improving clinical management of adolescent vaping may increase accessibility of evidence-based care and reduce harms associated with vaping in youth.
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    Promoting best practices for managing opioid overdoses in the field: A novel project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes program for first responders
    (Elsevier, 2022-10-28) Oliver, Alexander P.; Adams, Zachary W.; Ott, Carol A.; Agley, Jon; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    As the opioid overdose epidemic persists in the United States, it is important to provide specific first responder-oriented continuing education opportunities on interacting with, treating, and assessing individuals who overdose or who have Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). This research brief describes the first Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program focused on first responders and opioids, including the content covered and concomitant popularity and the registrants' objective knowledge and attitudes about opioids. Participation in the 'First Responders and Opioids ECHO' was free with no attendance requirements. Data include secondary assessment and description of the 9-session curriculum developed to address first responders' continuing education needs on OUD and overdose as well as objective knowledge and attitudes collected at program registration and granular attendance data by topic. Of 158 registrants, 102 attended at least one program session, with participants attending an average of 3.26 sessions (SD = 2.62). Registrants reported mixed knowledge levels, but even among this voluntary cohort of early adopters, objective knowledge about OUD and best-practice overdose response was only moderate. Registrants generally displayed non-stigmatizing and affirming attitudes and beliefs (e.g., substance use disorder is a treatable illness [M = 1.56, SD = 0.73]), with somewhat less agreement with items focused on harm reduction and medication-based treatment. A plausible case can be made that there is a need for evidence-based continuing education on opioids for first responders and related professionals. A motivated cohort of registrants displayed moderate but inconsistent knowledge and generally favorable attitudes. We encourage further systematic process and outcomes research on this topic.
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    Reflections on project ECHO: qualitative findings from five different ECHO programs
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021) Agley, Jon; Delong, Janet; Janota, Andrea; Carson, Anye; Roberts, Jeffrey; Maupomé, Gerardo
    Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) was developed in 2003 as an innovative model to facilitate continuing education and professional development. ECHO emphasizes 'moving knowledge, not people.' To accomplish this, ECHO programs use virtual collaboration and case-based learning to allow practitioners, including those in rural and underserved areas, to receive specialist training. The ECHO model has expanded rapidly and is now used in 44 countries. Preliminary research on ECHO's efficacy and effectiveness has shown promising results, but evidence remains limited and appropriate research outcomes have not been clearly defined. To improve the evidence basis for ECHO, this study of 5 ECHO programs (cancer prevention/survivorship, integrated pain management, hepatitis C, HIV, and LGBTQ+ health care elucidated actionable insights about the ECHO programs and directions in which future evaluations and research might progress. This was a qualitative study following COREQ standards. A trained interviewer conducted 10 interviews and 5 focus groups with 25 unique, purposively sampled ECHO attendees (2 interviews and 1 focus group for each of the 5 programs). Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the general inductive approach, then reviewed for reliability. We identified four major categories (reasons to join ECHO, value of participating in ECHO, ways to improve ECHO, and barriers to participation) composed of 23 primary codes. We suggest that thematic saturation was achieved, and a coherent narrative about ECHO emerged for discussion. Participants frequently indicated they received valuable learning experiences and thereby changed their practice; rigorous trials of learning and patient-level outcomes are warranted. This study also found support for the idea that the ECHO model should be studied for its role in convening communities of practice and reducing provider isolation as an outcome in itself. Additional implications, including for interprofessional education and model evolution, were also identified and discussed.
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    Use of Project ECHO to promote evidence based care for justice involved adults with opioid use disorder
    (Sage, 2022) Adams, Zachary W.; Agley, Jon; Pederson, Casey A.; Bell, Lauren A.; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Jackson, TiAura; Grant, Miyah T.; Ott, Carol A.; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Background: People with opioid use disorders (OUDs) are at heightened risk for involvement with the criminal justice system. Growing evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of providing empirically supported treatments for OUD, such as medications for OUD (M-OUD), to people with criminal justice involvement including during incarceration or upon reentry into the community. However, several barriers limit availability and accessibility of these treatment options for people with OUDs, including a shortage of healthcare and justice professionals trained in how to implement them. This study evaluated a novel education program, the Indiana Jail OUD Treatment ECHO, designed to disseminate specialty knowledge and improve attitudes about providing M-OUD in justice settings. Methods: Through didactic presentations and case-based learning (10 bimonthly, 90-min sessions), a multidisciplinary panel of specialists interacted with a diverse group of community-based participants from healthcare, criminal justice, law enforcement, and related fields. Participants completed standardized surveys about OUD knowledge and attitudes about delivering M-OUD in correctional settings. Thematic analysis of case presentations was conducted. Results: Among 43 participants with pre- and post-series evaluation data, knowledge about OUD increased and treatment was viewed as more practical after the ECHO series compared to before. Cases presented during the program typically involved complicated medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and recommendations addressed several themes including harm reduction, post-release supports, and integration of M-OUD and non-pharmacological interventions. Conclusions: Evaluation of future iterations of this innovative program should address attendance and provider behavior change as well as patient and community outcomes associated with ECHO participation.