1. Uniting Community and University in the Education of Health Professionals Wafa Asadian Dr. Angela Towle Division of Health Care Communication University of British Columbia Presented at CU Expo 2013 Corner Brook, NL, Canada June 13, 2013

2. Summary Query “expertise” as implied in the discourse of community and university relationships Conclusion “expertise” has academic rendering Need for alternative perspectives that recognize community’s experience as “expertise”

3. Definitions Issue Health care Community-based education Design Question Participants Method Analysis Community input and discussion Acknowledgement Table of content

4. Definitions Patient: people with/without health- related condition Community: patient, organizations, patient advocates Health professions: health-related disciplines

5. Issue Health care Potential vulnerability Social: e.g. Indigenous; refugees; immigrants Physical: e.g. (dis)ability, chronic illness, HIV/AIDS Psychological e.g. mental health conditions, alcohol/substance abuse Improving access by improving education

6. Issue Community-based education Mechanisms decided by academia Deficit view of the community as recipients of services Expertise?

7. Design Question Participants Method Analysis

8. Question How does the community apply the terms expert and expertise in the health professional discourse?

9. Participants 15 program coordinators, executive directors, and CEOs from different community organizations Sectors: mental health, disability, chronic disease, women, HIV/AIDs, Sexual health, immigrants and refugees

10. Method and analysis Interviews One on one Semi-structured: open, some questions and probing around the topic Transcribed and analyzed

11. Community input “we know very well..how this disease impacts families and …we would not be experts on the biomedical processes involved in the disease. We know about it and we learn about it and we try to keep on top of it and we can speak to it but we never replace a health care professional on those, or researchers.” Interviewee 11

12. Community input “I don’t have the expertise on that side but I know that if you had to teach community based medicine I think you would do it completely differently.” “For the autism workshop …we found a couple of psychologists … they really know how to spin a good one day workshop. They have a lot of expertise and they answer questions well and they have people who are doing clinical research and teaching.” Interviewee 8

13. Discussion Health professional Clinical Biomedical Research Teaching

14. Discussion Community: education, receiving “expert knowledge” from students University: education; ownership, giving to Professional, special knowledge

15. Community input “the biggest problem that people, including myself, find in interacting with health care professionals is the assumption that they’re the expert and they know what I need. And of course they’re the expert, that’s why I’m going to see them. But when you live with a chronic illness or a disability you have to become the expert in how it affects you.” Interviewee 7

16. Discussion Alternative perspectives Division of Health Care Communication at UBC Workshops by community educators (people with disability or chronic illness) Professional education held by non-professionals

17. Alternative perspectives Expert by experience Learning with rather than about Deficit model Recognition of assets and resources Complementary expertise

18. Questions for reflection 1)How could we concretely recognize and include the expertise of the community in health professional education? 2)What theories or guiding principles accommodate community’s voice as a form of expertise? 3)What are your ideas for the active involvement of the patients and community in health professional education?

19. Acknowledgement Funding agency Vancouver Foundation Project team Cheryl Hewitt Dr. William Godolphin Cathy Kline Scott Graham Anusha Elliot Paul Kerston

20. Thank you