Active offer: expanding the implementation of interprofessional simulations
Research team
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Co-PII. Giroux (U Ottawa), S. Savard (U Ottawa)
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Co-IJ. Savard (U Ottawa), M. Dorion (U Sherbrooke), M. Muray (U Ottawa), J. O’Neil (U Ottawa), J. Tyerman (U Ottawa), S. Collin (U Moncton), L. Shoppoff (U Ottawa)
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PartnersS. Bigras (La Cité College), F. Giasson (U Saint-Boniface)
Funding agency
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CNFS National Secretariat ($50,000)Period: 2023-2025
Summary
Francophone minority communities (FMCs) have limited access to social and health services in French, which can lead to misdiagnosis and impact the quality of care. Since FMCs members do not always feel comfortable requesting services in their language (Drolet et al., 2017), active offer (AO)—which consists of inviting care recipients to choose their preferred official language at first contact (Bouchard et al., 2012)—becomes essential. In a minority language context, Francophones receive services from professionals trained in both Francophone and Anglophone environments. It is therefore crucial that all future professionals be able to recognize the issues of FMCs and AO, in order to promote equitable access to services in French.
With this in mind, our team has designed a program of interprofessional simulations (IP SIMs) on AO for future health and social service professionals. This program has been tested at the University of Ottawa, mainly with Francophone students. We wish to expand it to other institutions that train professionals who will be working with FMCs, particularly by raising awareness of the importance of AO among English-speaking students.
Our goal is to adapt, implement, and evaluate IP SIMs on AOOA in various learning contexts in Canada. To achieve this, we will collaborate with CNFS member institutions to:
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Implement IP SIMs in French- and English-language health and social services training programs;
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Identify implementation facilitators and barriers through surveys and interviews with faculty and program coordinators;
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Evaluate the program’s impact on future professionals, teachers, and training environments.