A People-Centered Approach to Improving Interprofessional Communication in Health Care

Abstract

As part of the objectives stated under the Interprofessional Collaborative Practices (IPCP) Model funded through a grant with the Health Resources and Services Administration and Indiana University School of Nursing, it was necessary to better understand the challenges around interprofessional communication across a hospital unit. To carry out this objective, research consultants from Collabo Creative, a design research company, partnered with the Renal Metabolic (B5C5) unit at IU Health Methodist. The main purpose for connecting design researchers with B5C5 was to assist the unit in utilizing a people-centered design approach in order to: 1) understand the current context of interprofessional collaboration and communication, 2) frame pertinent communication design challenges; and 3) develop solutions to improve interprofessional collaboration and communication across the B5C5 unit. Resulting from the 8-month research engagement, Collabo Creative and B5C5 identified four core challenges to interprofessional communication that appear to be relevant to other hospital units in addition to B5C5. These challenges include: 1) patient handoff of information; 2) doctor and patient two-way communication; 3) employee tensions as a result of PCA training; and 4) night-shift inclusion in plan of care. This poster will describe the people-centered design approach and methods that were used to engage B5C5, along with key findings and newly developed interprofessional communication tools resulting from the research project.