The goal of the LEND Program Quality Improvement (LPQI) Network is to help individual programs improve the quality of LEND training in core competencies, such as family-centered care and interprofessional teaming. This is accomplished by: (1) using standardized measurement tools, (2) developing a voluntary inter-institutional database, (3) providing feedback to programs to use for quality improvement, and (4) identifying programs that demonstrate changes consistent with best practices.
Participating LEND programs use two common tools, one trainee self-report (CCM) and one faculty observation (I-FOR), to enter baseline and follow up data on long-term trainees into a database maintained by AUCD and linked to NIRS (herein referred to as the "Dashboard").
The Dashboard automatically analyzes data from participating LEND programs to determine change in baseline for each competency area (mean change, effect size, etc.) across both measures. Each program can access reports on their own performance; these also include information that programs can use to compare their outcomes with aggregate national data. LEND programs do not have access to outcomes of other individual programs.
The intent is that participating LEND programs use each year's LPQI data reports to determine areas for improvement, devise and implement a quality improvement plan, and measure outcomes in subsequent years. AUCD hosts a monthly coordination call for program representatives to discuss implementation of the LPQI protocol, share strategies, troubleshoot with peers, and solicit recommendations for future Dashboard improvements.
For more information about this initiative, refer to the following documents:
- Teaching Interprofessional Education and Family-Centered Care: Preliminary Results of Standardized Outcomes in a National Network (Brosco, et al.) - poster presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting
- Using Data to Drive Workforce Training: Lessons Learned from the LEND Program Quality Improvement (LPQI) Network (Kaufman and Brosco) - poster presented at the 2019 American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Meeting
Measurement Tools
Documents in this section are the most updated paper versions (i.e. replicating what appears for trainees and faculty in the dashboard) of the self-report and observation measures for each of the competencies being evaluated.
Implementation Strategies
Documents in this section were generated by participating LEND programs to help others more effectively implement the LPQI protocol (and related practices) at their sites.
Tutorials
Documents in this section were developed by AUCD; they provide comprehensive instruction for participating LEND programs on how to administer the LPQI protocol using the online dashboard tool, including direct guidance for faculty.
Contact Information
For programmatic questions, please contact NIRS help desk at [email protected].
For technical and Dashboard user questions, please contact Oksana Klimova, Director of Web Services, at [email protected].