CAIPPER Strategic Plan (FY 2024 to FY 2027)

In July 2022, the Illinois Board of Higher Education gave temporary approval to the Office of Vice Chancellor for Health Affair’s (OVCHA) proposal to establish CAIPPER – the Center for the Advancement of Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research. The center will serve as the coordinating body for offering comprehensive and rigorous interprofessional education experiences to students and practitioners with the ultimate goal of achieving the Quintuple Aim[1] (improved clinical outcomes, improved patient experience, a reduced per capita cost of care, improved provider well-being and advancing health equity) in training, service, and research.

The CAIPPER Implementation Taskforce was convened in February 2023 to help develop a 4-year roadmap for CAIPPER implementation based on the overall goals outlined in the center proposal. The Taskforce met four times over a two-month period. The Taskforce built upon the previous Strategic Plan for 2016 -2021, and created an updated  SWOT analysis and the environmental scan from those that were created as part of that plan.

_{[1] Nundy, S., Cooper, L. A., & Mate, K. S. (2022). The quintuple aim for health care improvement: A new imperative to advance health equity. JAMA : The Journal of the American Medical Association, 327(6), 521-522. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.25181}

This Strategic plan is based on the work of the CAIPPER Taskforce and on stakeholder input and aims to achieve the four goals of CAIPPER that were in the approved Center proposal:

Goal 1: Establish IPE curricula for pre-qualification learners and practicing professionals that is evidence-based, intentionally designed to flexibly meet the needs of a wide range of learners and grounded in principles of adult learning and interprofessional collaborative practice.

Goal 2: Build interprofessional collaborative practice models that achieve the Quintuple Aim.

Goal 3: Create and disseminate knowledge of the impact of interprofessional collaborative practice on health equity and improved individual and population health through research that is informed by advice from stakeholders across our communities.

Goal 4: Establish systems and infrastructure to continuously improve Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Interprofessional Education at UIC in alignment with CAIPPER and UIC goals.

The CAIPPER strategic plan recognizes that interprofessional education and interprofessional collaborative practice have unique considerations which come together when health professions students and practicing health professionals learn in the clinical environment (Figure 1).

(Accessible Tabular Version of Stakeholders Diagram)

As a center that brings together many units at UIC and has external partners in the community, the identification and engagement of stakeholders is important and complex (Figure 2). Input from stakeholders will be needed on an ongoing and recurring basis using focus groups, one-on-one meetings, and other mechanisms for gathering input such as surveys. Stakeholders span faculty, staff, and students in the health science colleges (HSC) across all campuses, other UIC academic units, the UI Health care delivery enterprise, campus offices who are important partners in achieving CAIPPER goals and community partners with whom CAIPPER aspires to engage.

A four-year roadmap for CAIPPER is documented in a logic model that is informed by the SWOT and PEST analyses as well as stakeholder needs as they are currently understood (Figure 3). The logic model includes the inputs or resources needed to achieve the desired outcomes. Some of the resources are already available and some must be developed. The outputs of CAIPPER will engage stakeholders in a set of activities that collectively lead to the desired outcomes. Because there is not a one-to-one relationship between activities and outcomes, there may be uneven progress in completing activities based on the current state – what is already in place to be built upon and what is starting from zero. Ongoing program evaluation, dialogue with stakeholders and monitoring of the environment (External factors) in which CAIPPER operates will be important to ensuring that outcomes remain aligned with UIC and UI Health mission, goals, and values. Finally, the assumed continued support of leadership in the OVCHA and all the Health Science Colleges as well as the input of advisory committees are essential to the achievement of outcomes and the sustainability of the Center.

In FY24, CAIPPER will sustain current activities including:

1. providing the Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice course,
2. supporting the development of innovative IPE learning activities,
3. faculty and advanced peer development in facilitating interprofessional learning and
4. development of the Interprofessional Disability Care Clinic as a demonstration of an intentionally planned model of interprofessional care to address complex healthcare needs.

CAIPPER Priority activities for FY24 include:

1. Establish a CAIPPER leadership team that will include Directors of IPE from each college and Directors of the core functions within CAIPPER.
   1. Each health science college will be asked to establish a Director of IPE to serve on the CAIPPER leadership team. Some colleges may need more than one person in this role depending on the number of programs and the organization of the curricula. The Director(s) will have responsibility for leading the development of IPE within their college or program, bringing the perspective of their college to CAIPPER and for thinking collaboratively about the best ways to meet the needs and achieve CAIPPER goals across UI Health.
   2. Faculty will be appointed to specific director roles for the core functions of CAIPPER. These appointments will be made in collaboration with the faculty member, their home unit and CAIPPER.
2. Building the infrastructure to support CAIPPER activities and evaluation including the full implementation of the Interprofessional Education Learning Experience database, convening a CAIPPER Academic Policy committee and implementing a communication plan to disseminate CAIPPER news to all stakeholders in multiple formats.
3. Implementing a student group that will provide input to CAIPPER activities and support the engagement of students in co-curricular IPE and ICP activities.
4. Working with the UI Hospital and Clinic’s leadership to demonstrate how improving ICP and developing IPE in the clinical environment contributes to the achievement of strategic goals.
5. Demonstrating CAIPPER’s value to the campus as a convener to align the expertise and activities of faculty in addressing complex educational and healthcare challenges.

In subsequent years, the previous year’s achievement of outcomes will be reviewed and adjustments will be made to the logic model as needed – continuing the strong commitment to evaluation and continuous improvement that has been the foundation of IPE and ICP development at UIC.

(Accessible PowerPoint Version of the Logic Model)

Assumptions

1. The leadership team for CAIPPER will include Assistant Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Practice and Education, faculty with appointed leadership positions in CAIPPER and appointed Directors of IPE from the Health Science Colleges.
2. Advisory committee(s) provide perspectives on IPE/ICP that will be used to inform CAIPPER on its activities, progress, and goals.

External Factors

1. The continuing evolution of accreditation standards for health professions education programs will require adaptation of activities and goals.
2. The evidence for effective models of interprofessional collaboration should inform initiatives at UI Health.

We would like to thank the members of the 2023 CAIPPER Implementation Taskforce that made critical contributions to the examination of the current and future context in which CAIPPER is developed and in sharing their diverse knowledge and experiences.

We thank Dr. Robert Barish, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, who has provided tremendously important support in establishing CAIPPER.

Any questions about the CAIPPER Strategic Plan should be directed to Mary T. Keehn, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Practice and Education at mkeehn@uic.edu.