A virtual community-of-practice approach by rural stakeholders in managing pneumoconiosis in the USA: a cross-sectional analysis

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorSood, Akshay
dc.contributor.authorAssad, Nour
dc.contributor.authorJarrell, William
dc.contributor.authorKalishman, Summers
dc.contributor.authorSuer, Kyla Le
dc.contributor.authorMurillo, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorMyers, Orrin
dc.contributor.authorRochelle, Rachelle
dc.contributor.authorSalveson, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorSoller, Brian
dc.contributor.authorWalker, Jolene
dc.contributor.authorWissore, Bruce
dc.contributor.authorPollard, Charles
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-25T17:11:59Z
dc.date.available2020-09-25T17:11:59Z
dc.date.issued2020-07-20
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: The re-emergence of pneumoconiosis, particularly among coal miners (ie black lung), in the USA is a challenge for rural communities because more miners require specialized care while expertise is scarce. The Miners’ Wellness TeleECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) Clinic, jointly held by the University of New Mexico and a community hospital in New Mexico, provides structured telementoring to professionals caring for miners, including clinicians, respiratory therapists, home health professionals, benefits counselors, lawyers/attorneys and others, forming a virtual ‘community of practice’. This approach has not been utilized and evaluated previously. Methods: The study’s bimonthly program uses the ECHO telementoring model, which uses technology to leverage scarce mentoring resources; uses a disease-management model that is proven to improve outcomes in other disease states, by reducing variation in processes of care and sharing best practices; uses the principle of case-based learning with highly contextualized discussions, which fulfils key learning theory principles; creates a virtual community of practice; and uses an internet-based database to monitor outcomes. This 1-year cross-sectional study from September 2018 to September 2019 used geographical mapping of all attendee locations, web-based continuing medical education surveys completed by attendees using iECHO software, and a Research Electronic Data Capture-based survey of a convenience sample of participants, which obtained detailed information on demographics, knowledge, self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Knowledge sharing among participants was examined using insights and methods from social network analysis. Subgroup analysis involved comparisons between clinical and non-clinical professional groups, and between new and existing participants. Groups were compared using Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, and non-parametric Wilcoxon ranked sum test or student’s t-test for continuous variables. Results: Participants were largely located in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots of the USA. In a convenience sample of 70 participants, clinical professional groups such as clinicians (29%), home health professionals (20%) and respiratory therapists (17%) constituted the majority of the stakeholders. Participants demonstrated the lowest knowledge score on ‘legal pneumoconiosis’ among the knowledge areas questioned; reported low self-efficacy with respect to managing miners’ conditions and interpreting test results; and rated the learning community highly in terms of trust (86%), willingness to help each other (93%) and being closely knit (87%). Analysis of knowledge sources indicated that participants receive substantial proportions of knowledge from individuals outside of their stakeholder and professional groups, but proportions differ among clinical and non-clinical professional groups, as well as among ‘fresh’ and existing participants. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the successful creation of a virtual multidisciplinary community of practice in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspot rural regions of the USA, with participants reporting multidisciplinary knowledge transfer. The community is regarded highly by participants in relation to trust, willingness to help and being closely knit. This innovative educational approach may help ensure the delivery of high-quality interdisciplinary care to rural miners in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots in the USA.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Alpha Foundation funded this study. The organization has made no other contribution to the researchen_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/5784en_US
dc.format.extent11 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2mw4n-guab
dc.identifier.citationSood A, Assad N, Jarrell W, Kalishman S, Le Suer K, Murillo S, Myers O, Rochelle R, Salveson S, Soller B, Walker J, Wissore B, Pollard C. A virtual community-of-practice approach by rural stakeholders in managing pneumoconiosis in the USA: a cross-sectional analysis. Rural and Remote Health 2020; 20: 5784. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH5784en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.22605/RRH5784
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/19716
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherJames Cook Universityen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health Department
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectblack lung
dc.subjectcollective efficacy
dc.subjectcommunity of practice
dc.subjectknowledge
dc.subjectpneumoconiosis
dc.subjectself-efficacy
dc.subjecttelementoring
dc.subjectUSA
dc.titleA virtual community-of-practice approach by rural stakeholders in managing pneumoconiosis in the USA: a cross-sectional analysisen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
article_print_5784.pdf
Size:
1016.98 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.56 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

UMBC Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health Department
UMBC Faculty Collection