Development, implementation, and assessment of a web-based interprofessional curriculum on age-friendly care for health professions students

Background: Older adults experience disproportionately higher rates of harm, delay, and discoordination while seeking and receiving healthcare. To optimize training for entry-level healthcare providers, we developed a curriculum to enhance the readiness of health professions students to provide age-friendly care (AFC) to older adults using the 4Ms framework. Methods: Kern’s 6-step approach guided the development of the curriculum. Participants included 434 students in Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant programs, 34 alumni, and 28 faculty affiliated with a university in the southeastern United States. Formative evaluation occurred throughout and included interviews and surveys with key stakeholders. Summative evaluation included collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data addressed students’ knowledge via module-specific quizzes and students’ attitudes per the Geriatric Attitudes Scale (GAS) and the Expectations Regarding Aging-12 Scale (ERA12). Qualitative data included narrative responses on two reflections: the student’s role as a member of the older adults' healthcare team, and incorporating principles of AFC for older adults during their upcoming clinical rotations. Results: Kern’s approach was an effective framework to guide the curricular development. Students’ knowledge increased per successful completion of module quizzes (scores 80 and above). There were no changes in pre-post GAS or ERA-12 scores. Qualitative assessment of reflections identified four themes related to the delivery of age-friendly care: interconnection between the 4Ms, importance of the interprofessional team, person-centered care, and provider competency and accountability. Discussion: The web-based curriculum enhanced the perceived readiness of health professions students to provide care to older adults. The open-access curriculum appears to be one component that helps optimize the training of entry-level healthcareproviders to better prepare them for interprofessional practice in the care of older adults.