iPEX Faculty Previous Studies

Below you will find a list of previous studies by the iPEX Training Team.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Oncology Palliative Care Education—iCOPE

Initially funded by a NCI R-25 grant (R25CA148005), this project designed, implemented and evaluated an innovative, integrated, interdisciplinary palliative oncology curriculum for medical, nursing, social work and chaplaincy students. The iCOPE curriculum has been fully integrated into the curricula of the participating schools and continues to be fully functioning beyond the funding period. Therefore, it is feasible for other institutions to implement without outside sources of funding. Faculty involved: Pfeifer, Head, Schapmire, Woggon, Shaw, Jones Website: www.icopeproject.org

Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP)-Kentucky Rural and Underserved Geriatric Interprofessional Education Program

Funded in 2015 by a grant from the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), this project addresses 1) the shortage of the geriatric and primary care health workforce; 2) the need to train a health care workforce that can deliver culturally appropriate services to all diverse groups living in our area; 3) the difficulties experienced in decreasing the chronic disease burden in rural KY; 4) the lack of supportive rural environments to promote health, specifically for the older rural populations; and 5) the need for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Supportive Education and Resources. Faculty involved: Head, Schapmire, Furman, Jones

Kentucky Lung Cancer Survivorship Program

Funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, the aims of this multi-site program of research are to create The Kentucky LEADS Collaborative between the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. The research team is dedicated to reducing the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky and beyond through development, evaluation, and dissemination of novel, community-based interventions to promote provider education, survivorship care, and prevention and early detection regarding lung cancer. Drs. Head and Schapmire are co-investigators for the survivorship intervention and are developing the intervention and the training modules to be used by interventionists and survivors. Faculty involved: Head, Schapmire

ELNEC (End-of-Life Nursing Consortium) – Train the Trainer Conference

Led by Dr. Head (faculty member for ELNEC Geriatric curriculum), ten local ELNEC trainers presented this two-day ELNEC Core training workshop attended by over 150 interdisciplinary trainees from nine states. The goal of the conference was to train nurses, social workers, and chaplains to teach palliative care using the ELNEC-Core 8 Module Curriculum. This training conference required extensive and detailed planning and administration which was facilitated by Drs. Head & Schapmire and Ms. Jones. Faculty involved: Head, Schapmire, Jones

Integrated Didactic and Experiential Palliative Care Curriculum Project

This program was funded by a grant from the Medical School of Wisconsin’s End of Life Palliative Education Resource Center (EPERC) project, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This project created a longitudinal palliative care curriculum extending over all four years of medical training at the U of L School of Medicine. Significant improvement in palliative care knowledge test scores, significantly higher levels of confidence and competence in palliative medicine related skills, and increased student satisfaction in providing end-of-life care has resulted from this project. Faculty involved: Shaw, Pfeifer, Head

Wit Education Program

A multiprofessional, multimodality (film, mixed small groups, and lecture) session for nursing, medical, and social work students, utilizing the feature film Wit, was designed, implemented, and evaluated at U of L. Overall, 79% of students evaluated believed the multiprofessional sessions would directly improve their clinical practice. Faculty involved: Pfeifer, Head

EPEC Train the Trainer Project

Four Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care (EPEC) train-the trainer conferences were organized by members of this project team and held in Kentucky (146 Interdisciplinary trainees). Faculty involved: Pfeifer

End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC)—Geriatric Program

Dr. Head currently serves as faculty on this project which is co-sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the City of Hope. The goal of this project is to educate geriatric nurses in the principles and practices of interdisciplinary end-of-life care. The course is offered nationwide and internationally. Faculty involved: Head

Decision Case Method Teaching for Social Workers and Nurses

Dr. Head participated in a Soros Foundation funded Social Work Project on Death in America. Subsequently, she received the Paul Weber Teaching Award and was funded to work with senior nursing students to recruit and develop decision cases. Sixty cases were developed, many of which deal with palliative care and oncology scenarios. Articles were published in Nursing Education and the Journal of Social Work in End of Life and Palliative Care. Faculty involved: Head

Medicaid Palliative Case Management

Funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, this study incorporated palliative care principles and practices into the operations of a Medicaid managed care provider. The training produced significant changes in the palliative care knowledge of the case managers and symptoms were shown to decline during the first month of palliative care case management. Results were published in Professional Case Management and presented at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s annual meeting in 2006. Faculty involved: Pfeifer, Head