Improving chronic disease prevention and management: An inter-professional education initiative

The purpose of this paper is to describe the Inter-professional Promoting Access to Health (I-PATH) initiative and its role in creating a workforce primed to improve both community health program planning and hands-on collaborative care for people with multiple chronic conditions. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires all not-for-profit hospitals to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) every three years. At this early stage in the requirement, healthcare professionals are still learning how to best conduct a CHNA and apply the results to improving the health of communities. At the same time, the chronic illness burden is increasing across communities, particularly among minority and low-income populations. Successful care coordination remains a challenge. The I-PATH project integrates curricula and clinical experience for nursing, dietetics and public health students. Students address the prevention and management of chronic illness from a two-pronged strategy: the clinical experience of meeting the needs of persons with multiple chronic conditions in the community and the assessment experience of conducting a CHNA and planning a program response. The I-PATH model allows public health professionals and healthcare providers the unique and blended opportunity to assess and understand community needs relative to chronic disease, engage in long-term planning to best meet those needs, and gain experience in care management through an inter-professional team experience.  The educational approach is recommended for replication in health services graduate study.