Using the Collective Impact Model to Organize Evidence-Based Programs to Educate Health Care Professionals About the Care Needs of Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities
New
- Author(s)
- Sarah Ailey, Dianne Cooney Miner, Suzanne Smeltzer, Beth Marks, Jasmina Sisirak, Brian H Abery, Renata Ticha
Description
Background: Individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDDs) experience persistent health inequities, exacerbated by the systemic lack of education of health care professionals about their care. In response to a 2020 call from the Administration for Community Living in the United States, five institutions formed the IDD Health Equity Consortium to develop a suite of educational materials and practice experiences to improve the education of health care professionals in the health and health care of individuals with IDDs.
Methods: The Collective Impact Model, designed to align organizations and stakeholders around a shared agenda for system change, was used to organize IDD Health Equity Consortium programs. Backbone infrastructure included a cross-sector steering committee, an Advocate Advisory Committee, and three Consortium Action Networks focused on communication, measurement, education, practice, and policy. A scoping review of the literature was conducted, and a Participatory Planning and Decision-Making process engaged individuals with IDDs, family members, students, faculty, and professionals in identifying important themes for developed materials.
Results: Learning modules, case studies, service-learning experiences, and simulation experiences were developed across Consortium institutions and disseminated to multiple other institutions, with initial alignment with interprofessional and disability competencies. Mixed-methods evaluation strategies assessed learner outcomes, including knowledge checks and pre- and post-evaluations using established measures of skills, comfort levels, and approach; and interprofessional socialization, valuing, and collaborative practice behaviors.
Conclusions: By involving individuals with IDDs in curriculum development and building multi-institution and cross-sector infrastructure, the Consortium developed scalable materials that address longstanding gaps in health care professional education. The developed suite of educational materials, practice experiences, and early evaluation findings provided a foundation for further program refinement and future empirical studies examining long-term effects on practice and clinical outcomes.
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Details
- Date
- 2026
- Type
- Peer-Reviewed Article
- Publisher
- MDPI