Activities and update

G-I-N Allied Health Community one year after its launch

(Extract from enGINe - January 2011)

About one year ago we announced the launch of the G-I-N Allied Health Community and we think it is about time to further introduce ourselves and provide you with an update of what we have done and what we are aiming for in the coming year.

Our objective is to promote and stimulate multidisciplinary collaboration in clinical guidelines, and to further facilitate and increase interactions between medical and allied health professionals. We therefore invite all types of health care professionals to join our activities.

After our launch a steering group was established to lead the activities of the community and a section on the G-I-N website was opened. We started our activities in two projects: (1) development of a toolkit to support nurses and allied health professionals in guideline development, and (2) the development of a position paper to promote patient functioning and quality of life in guidelines.

Development of a toolkit

By developing modules for (online) courses we aim to support nurses and allied health professionals in guideline development. The modules are being developed under auspices of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The project will result in five different modules which can be used in different ways, i.e. a full postgraduate program and brief (online) courses for separate modules. The next step is then to adapt these modules for wider use by allied health professionals in collaboration with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and the Allied Health Professions Forum in the UK. Finally we want to develop a strategy for the international use of (online) courses within G-I-N.

Position paper to promote patient functioning and quality of life

The objective of this project is to develop a position paper to promote patient functioning and health related quality of life as objectives for prevention, assessment, treatment, and evaluation in clinical guidelines. The shift in health care from (only) medical diagnosis and treatment towards an integrative multidisciplinary approach should be reflected in guideline recommendations.

We received a grant of €10,000 from two G-I-N members (Regieraad and KNGF) to develop the paper and Simone van Dulmen recently started as junior researcher to develop the paper under auspices of the steering group. We expect to present a draft of the paper during the G-I-N conference in Seoul. To develop the position paper we have set up a wiki and we would like to invite you to contribute to the position paper. Details for accessing the wiki will be provided on the G-I-N website or you can contact Simone van Dulmen (s.vandulmen@iq.umcn.nl).

Next steps

Our next steps are to expand the Allied Health community with a focus on the further stimulation of multidisciplinary collaboration in clinical guidelines. Our main message is that guidelines should emphasize the importance of a holistic approach and health related quality of life in guidelines, based on a patient centered approach.

Work plan for the G-I-N Allied Health Community

1. To establish the Allied Health Community

• Install a core steering group
• Formulate Terms of Reference

2. To open a dedicated section on the G-I-N website

3. To provide a toolkit that supports Allied Health Professionals in their participation in guideline activities

• Collection of material
• Selection of material
• Launch of first version of toolkit

4. To develop a white paper that addresses the importance of patient functioning and quality of life within clinical guidelines