title: A Community Needs Assessment for the Development of an Interprofessional Palliative Care Training Curriculum.
abstract: There is a known shortage of trained palliative care professionals, and an even greater shortage of professionals who have been trained through interprofessional curricula. As part of an institutional Palliative Care Training Center grant, a core team of interprofessional palliative care academic faculty and staff completed a state-wide palliative care educational assessment to determine the needs for an interprofessional palliative care training program.
  
  
  
  The purpose of this article is to describe the process and results of our community needs assessment of interprofessional palliative care educational needs in Washington state.
  
  
  
  We approached the needs assessment through a cross-sectional descriptive design by using mixed-method inquiry.
  
  
  
  Each phase incorporated a variety of settings and subjects.
  
  
  
  The assessment incorporated multiple phases with diverse methodological approaches: a preparatory phase-identifying key informants; Phase I-key informant interviews; Phase II-survey; and Phase III-steering committee endorsement.
  
  
  
  The multiple phases of the needs assessment helped create a conceptual framework for the Palliative Care Training Center and developed an interprofessional palliative care curriculum. The input from key informants at multiple phases also allowed us to define priority needs and to refine an interprofessional palliative care curriculum.
  
  
  
  This curriculum will provide an interprofessional palliative care educational program that crosses disciplinary boundaries to integrate knowledge that is beneficial for all palliative care clinicians. The input from a range of palliative care clinicians and professionals at every phase of the needs assessment was critical for creating an interprofessional palliative care curriculum.
authors: 1 UW/Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence NIH/NHLBI Post-Doctoral Fellow (T32), University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Heather
authors: H
authors: Coats
authors: 2 Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Tia
authors: T
authors: Paganelli
authors: 3 Department of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Helene
authors: H
authors: Starks
authors: 4 School of Social Work, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Taryn
authors: T
authors: Lindhorst
authors: 5 Valora Consulting, Seattle, Washington.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Starks Acosta
authors: 6 Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Larry
authors: L
authors: Mauksch
authors: 2 Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.|7 Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington.
authors: Ardith
authors: A
authors: Doorenbos
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010166:Palliative Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington
keywords: educational design; interprofessional curriculum; needs assessment; palliative care