Closing Care Gaps for Disabled Adults: Rutgers University's Virtual Education Program

Strategic Insights -

Rutgers University's innovative virtual education program has made a significant impact in improving care for vulnerable adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities in New Jersey. The program, a collaboration between Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, provided training to healthcare students and practitioners through expert instruction and dramatized simulations of common interactions between caregivers and patients. The program aimed to reduce the uncertainty of working with this patient population, model communication, and humanize care.

Key Takeaways:

  • The program trained 212 unique participants, resulting in a 32.6% gain in knowledge, with 45% planning changes in how they screen, educate, and coordinate care.
  • 90% of respondents reported increased knowledge after sessions, 92% would recommend the format to peers, and 88% reported more opportunities to collaborate with other providers.
  • The program covered topics such as communication strategies, psychotropic stewardship, seizure and dementia care, oral health, transitions to and from the emergency department, legal and ethical issues, and palliative and end-of-life care.
  • Participants came from 21 New Jersey counties and eight other states, with the largest number coming from the fields of nursing, community health, and social work.
  • The program emphasized simple accommodations like extra time, plain-language materials, and sensory-friendly exam rooms, along with direct engagement of patients rather than defaulting to caregivers.
  • Last year's pilot program was funded by the WITH Foundation, a private organization dedicated to improving health care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Statistics:

  • 212 unique participants reported a 32.6% gain in knowledge.
  • 45% of participants planned changes in how they screen, educate, and coordinate care.
  • 90% of respondents reported increased knowledge after sessions.
  • 92% of respondents would recommend the program to their peers.
  • 88% of respondents reported more opportunities to collaborate with other providers.
  • The average attendance was 40 people per session.

Sources:

  • "Helping New Jersey Clinicians Close Care Gaps for Disabled Adults" (Rutgers University)
  • Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)
  • University of New Mexico (Project ECHO telementoring model)
  • Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy's Simulation Technology Program
  • WITH Foundation (private organization dedicated to improving health care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities)