Learning Inter-Professionally Healthcare Accelerator (LIPHA) – an evidence-based, serious simulation game-based platform for learning and training in health care.
By: Dr. Meaghan Adams, Manager, Simulation & Virtual Learning, Centre for Education & Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest Academy for Research & Education and Melissa Tafler, Knowledge Broker: Special Projects, Centre for Education & Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest Academy for Research & Education
In Canada, 750,000 people are living with dementia—a number projected to more than double by 2050. Our health care system must be prepared to provide the best possible care for individuals living with dementia, their families and our aging population.
As one of the world's leading distributors of knowledge on seniors' care, Baycrest is educating the next generation of health care providers, locally and globally, by developing innovative, interprofessional virtual education to address this challenge.
Improving capacity across our health care system
In partnership with the North East Specialized Geriatric Centre in Sudbury, Baycrest's Centre for Education delivers ECHO® (Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes): Care of the Elderly across Ontario, providing virtual, real-time, interprofessional education sessions to improve health care providers' knowledge, skills and abilities. Each session consists of a short presentation and Q&A with an expert clinician, followed by the presentation of an anonymized real-life patient case. Topics range from dementia, depression and delirium to falls, advanced care planning and more.
Evaluation results indicate that program participation leads to higher self-efficacy for health care providers and increased comfort working with clients aged 65+ and those living with dementia. Additionally, 95 per cent of surveyed learning partners have used or plan to use information from ECHO in their own practice and many have shared their knowledge with colleagues, reflecting ECHO's ability to increase people's and organizations' capacity to provide care for older adults. Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, all of our ECHO programs are offered at no cost to learners across Ontario. To learn more or to register, visit https://www.baycrest.org/Baycrest/Academic-Education-Training/Project-ECHO
As a host organization of the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI), Baycrest offers innovative educational initiatives and resources for the Ontario long-term care sector to engage health care providers, staff and learners in cultures of learning and to integrate evidence-informed approaches.
One such initiative is the Preceptor Resource and Education Program in Long-Term Care (PREP LTC). Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, PREP LTC is an educational innovation designed to increase the number and quality of clinical student placements in long-term care homes. Delivered through a self-directed, online learning curriculum, PREP LTC supports homes by enhancing skills, knowledge and access to resources that develop capacity for high-quality placements. The program helps long-term care homes build positive relationships with academic training partners, and create robust clinical placements for students, driving better care and health outcomes for long-term care residents across the province. To learn more about PREP LTC, visit https://clri-prepltc.ca/education-2/
Providing cutting-edge training with serious games
Another Baycrest initiative through the Ontario CLRI is the Learning Inter-Professionally Healthcare Accelerator (LIPHA) – an evidence-based, serious simulation game-based platform for learning and training in health care. LIPHA presents learners with real-world scenarios, simulated patient cases, quests and evidence-based resources to practice clinical and team-based competencies for delivering care to older adults in clinical settings. It is highly scalable and offers multiple possibilities for game-based learning, drawing on neuroscience, emotional design and story-based learning.
In addition to knowledge application improvements, learners report increased confidence and interest in gerontology and geriatric care. To date, over 6,000 learners have benefited from LIPHA, which is free for academic programs and long-term care homes across the province. Learn more or book a demo at https://www.mylipha.ca/who-is-lipha-for/
Using the LIPHA platform, our team built the Possibilities by BaycrestTM learning experience. Possibilities by BaycrestTM is a memory care model that creates highly customized experiences for individuals living with dementia in residential memory care settings. The learning experience will enable teams to deliver the best possible care to older adults living in PossibilitiesTM communities around the world.
Developed with experts in geriatrics, clinical practice, medical education, simulation, neuroscience, learning theory and game-based learning, the learning experience combines synchronous and asynchronous education, innovative game-based learning and expert facilitation to enable staff to support residents on their best possible aging journey. Evaluation data shows that the educational experience creates an exceptional community to live and work, enabling staff to adopt a relational approach to dementia care, changing knowledge and attitudes about dementia and technology. For questions or to learn more, please contact BaycrestTerraces@Baycrest.org
Through our commitment to developing and providing interprofessional, virtual and team-based education, Baycrest is equipping health care providers with the skills and knowledge needed to provide exemplary care to older adults everywhere.