Training health professionals in leadership and management skills is a key component of health systems strengthening in low-resource settings. The importance of evaluating the effectiveness of these programs has received increased attention over the past several years, although such evaluations continue to pose significant challenges. This article presents evaluation data from the pilot year of the Afya Bora Fellowship, an African-based training program to increase the leadership capacity of health professionals. Firstly, we describe the goals of the Afya Bora Fellowship. Then, we present an adaptation of the transtheoretical model for behavior change called the Health Leadership Development Model, as an analytical lens to identify and describe evidence of individual leadership behavior change among training participants during and shortly after the pilot year of the program. The Health Leadership Development Model includes the following: pre-contemplation (status quo), contemplation (testing and internalizing leadership), preparation - (moving toward leadership), action (leadership in action), and maintenance (effecting organizational change). We used data from surveys, in-depth interviews, journal entries and course evaluations as data points to populate the Health Leadership Development Model. In the short term, fellows demonstrated increased leadership development during and shortly after the intervention and reflected the contemplation, preparation and action stages of the Health Leadership Development Model. However, expanded interventions and/or additional time may be needed to support behavior change toward the maintenance stages. We conclude that the Health Leadership Development Model is useful for informing health leadership training design and evaluation to contribute to sustainable health organizational change.
Background To explore attitudes to telehealth education and experiences incorporating telehealth education into entry‐to‐practice physiotherapy programs in Australia, from the perspective of university educators. Methods Qualitative design based on a constructivist paradigm and a phenomenological approach. Sixteen university educators (who had a responsibility for telehealth curriculum or oversight of the broader curriculum in an entry‐to‐practice physiotherapy programme at an Australian university) were recruited. Individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using an inductive approach. Results Three themes (with associated subthemes) were identified: (i) telehealth education has a role in contemporary physiotherapy practice (COVID‐19 pandemic was a driver for telehealth education, acknowledgement that telehealth is here to stay and identified areas of focus for telehealth education and training); (ii) telehealth education and training vary substantially (content delivered and assessment of telehealth competency is ad hoc and student exposure to telehealth on clinical placements is inconsistent); (iii) challenges in telehealth education (finding space and time in the curriculum, as well as insufficient knowledge and expertise of staff, are challenges for implementation of telehealth education, however, course and subject development and/or reviews provide opportunities for implementing telehealth education and training). Conclusion Current content and volume of telehealth education and training in entry‐to‐practice physiotherapy programs across Australia varies substantially. Although educators believe telehealth is an important component of contemporary physiotherapy practice, many barriers exist for including telehealth training into the curriculum.
BACKGROUND The provision of physiotherapy care via telehealth is becoming increasingly common and, in some circumstances, is a necessity, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to understand what are the core capabilities that physiotherapists need in order to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to develop a discipline-specific core capability framework for physiotherapists to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. METHODS An international Delphi panel comprising a steering group and experts in the field, including physiotherapy researchers, physiotherapy clinicians, representatives of physiotherapy organizations, and consumers, was established by drawing on the research team’s academic, research, and clinical networks as well as contacting international physiotherapy organizations. The draft framework was developed by the research team and steering group, based on relevant documents identified within the literature. The panel considered a draft framework of 73 specific capabilities mapped across 8 domains. Over 3 rounds, panelists rated their agreement (Likert or numerical rating scales) on whether each capability was essential (core) for physiotherapists to deliver quality care via videoconferencing. The capabilities that achieved consensus, defined as 75% of the panel ratings being ≥7 out of 10 in round 3, were retained. RESULTS A total of 130 panelists from 32 countries participated in round 1, with retention rates of 65% and 60% in rounds 2 and 3, respectively. The final framework comprised 60 capabilities across the following seven domains: compliance (capabilities: n=7), patient privacy and confidentiality (capabilities: n=4), patient safety (capabilities: n=7), technology skills (capabilities: n=7), telehealth delivery (capabilities: n=16), assessment and diagnosis (capabilities: n=7), and care planning and management (capabilities: n=12). CONCLUSIONS This framework outlines the specific core capabilities that are required of physiotherapists to provide quality care via videoconferencing. The core capability framework provides guidance for physiotherapists to deliver care via videoconferencing and will help inform the future development of physiotherapy curricula and professional development initiatives in the delivery of telehealth.
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