Bridging the Care Gap: Integrating Family Caregiver Partnerships into Healthcare Provider Education
Abstract
1. Introduction
Developing Competency-Based Education to Support Caregiver Partnerships
2. Methods
2.1. Co-Designing Advanced Education for Caregiver-Centered Care
2.2. Co-Design Process and Educational Content Development
2.3. Evaluation Study Design
2.3.1. Participant Recruitment
2.3.2. Data Collection
- Level 1: Reactions—Four satisfaction items rated on a 7-point Likert scale assessed relevance, applicability, content engagement, and usefulness. Open-text comments captured qualitative impressions.
- Level 2: Knowledge and Confidence—Nine items aligned with the competency domains were rated pre- and post-module. These were pilot-tested with stakeholders and showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.92–0.94).
- Level 3: Planned Behavior—Learners submitted SMART goals after each module to articulate how they would apply the content in practice.
2.3.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Participant Characteristics
3.2. Learners’ Reactions: Satisfaction with the Education (Level 1)
3.3. Changes in Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (Level 2)
“These learning videos highlighted the importance of the work that I do as a health care provider. I am confident that I provide support in many ways that these videos show—I am now able to put a name to some of the concepts and strategies utilized in my practice.”
“My learning is that my job is to facilitate and have the caregiver lead conversations about their needs. this has helped me to see that the caregiver is the one who has the information.”
“A wonderful course that reminds us we can work as a team and lighten the load for all involved. Everyone is a valuable team player.”
3.4. Planned Changes in Behaviors and Practices (Level 3)
“Over the next 6 months in the clinic, I will work to identify and document family caregivers, acknowledging their diverse roles and trajectories, to facilitate the provision of support to address unmet needs/caregiver wellness.”
“I would like to remember to acknowledge each caregiver’s sacrifices at the client care conferences. Writing that acknowledges the care conference questionnaire sheet, so that when the conference starts, I will remember to take a moment to acknowledge the caregiver/caregiver.”
“Understand, affirm, and acknowledge the unmet needs of each of the caregivers on my caseload when meeting them, at times of transition, and at reassessment.”
“I want to practice OARS more in my work. I will be mindful of the mnemonic while I am caring for a person and their families.”
“As a leader in an organization that deals with caregivers, I want to create a better framework—a better process—within which my team communicates with the caregivers who support loved ones in our programs.”
“I plan to share information so that caregivers can be partners in care and decision making. I need to discuss how I/home care and the caregiver/client work together with my home care team. We need to practice the best way to communicate.”
“The family should be the central point when caring for patients. Using H.E.A.R.T. approach when tension is escalating. Encourage more staff to use H.E.A.R.T. method.”
“In the next year, I want to develop learning modules for staff and physicians about how to communicate with caregivers, especially the H.E.A.R.T. process.”
“I have recommended this resource to leaders across my health system as a terrific example of opportunities to support the realization of an integrated people-centered health system.”
“This course helped me better understand how to approach speaking about self-care and helped me understand that self-care not only lies with the caregiver but also has to be planned and executed with the help of a provider.”
“There is a great understanding of self-empowerment for navigation. Apart from sharing the information learned, I will make a conscious effort to follow up with family caregivers and problem solving any barriers along their way.”
“I would like to develop a bank of excellent contacts for caregivers and complete a visit or call with them to see their processes. This is an important area for all families with adults who need care.”
“Bias, unconscious is one I need to look for. I also love the fact that one can reflect even before a situation arises and prepare oneself for responses and actions. It is important to take it one step at a time, one day of a time, and believe that the little I do daily to create a change, though not noticeable, is having an effect on the system, one person at a time.”
“Commit to spread awareness regarding the need to pay attention to the caregiver role, as this has an immense impact on how our health system remains what it is today.”
“I will be an example to others of how this can work and be that leader in my setting.”
4. Discussion
Limitations
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Work Setting | Frequency | % |
---|---|---|
Primary | 23 | 8% |
Acute | 20 | 7% |
Home | 71 | 24% |
Supportive living | 39 | 13% |
Long-term | 48 | 16% |
Community/Social | 28 | 9% |
Other | 50 | 16% |
Student | 21 | 7% |
Total | 300 | 100% |
Province | Frequency | % |
Alberta | 262 | 87% |
British Columbia | 5 | 2% |
Saskatchewan | 1 | 0% |
Manitoba | 3 | 1% |
Ontario | 13 | 4% |
Prince Edward Island | 2 | 1% |
New Brunswick | 2 | 1% |
Newfoundland | 3 | 1% |
Country other than Canada | 8 | 3% |
Prefer not to answer | 1 | 0% |
Total | 300 | 100% |
Age | Frequency | % |
20 or under | 2 | 1% |
21–25 | 11 | 4% |
26–34 | 33 | 11% |
35–44 | 75 | 25% |
45–54 | 76 | 25% |
55–64 | 88 | 29% |
65+ | 14 | 5% |
Prefer not to answer | 1 | 0% |
300 | 100% | |
Gender | Frequency | % |
Male | 35 | 12% |
Female | 261 | 87% |
Prefer not to answer | 4 | 1% |
300 | 100% | |
Ethnicity | Frequency | % |
Black | 17 | 5% |
Canadian | 137 | 46% |
Filipino | 13 | 4% |
Metis | 15 | 5% |
South Asian | 11 | 4% |
Southeast Asian | 2 | 1% |
White Caucasian | 75 | 25% |
East Asian | 5 | 2% |
Hispanic/Latinx | 5 | 2% |
Mixed Nationality | 5 | 2% |
Middle Eastern | 1 | 0% |
Prefer not to answer | 14 | 4% |
300 | 100% |
Questions on Satisfaction with Education Delivery and Content | Recognizing | Communicating | Partnering | Fostering Resilience | Navigating | Changing Culture | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(SD) | Range (Med) | (SD) | Range (Med) | (SD) | Range (Med) | (SD) | Range (Med) | (SD) | Range (Med) | (SD) | Range (Med) | |
I can apply the knowledge I learned in this module in my practice with family caregivers. | 6.7 (0.7) | 4–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.5) | 5–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.7) | 4–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) |
The video content helped to increase my understanding of family caregivers. | 6.5 (0.9) | 2–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.5) | 5–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.6) | 4–7(7) | 6.7 (0.6) | 4–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) |
This module increased my understanding of the importance of engaging and supporting family caregivers. | 6.8 (0.5) | 5–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.9) | 2–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.6) | 4–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.6) | 5–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.8) | 3–7 (7) |
I found this learning to be beneficial to my practice, and I will recommend it to others. | 6.6 (0.9) | 2–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.5) | 5–7 (7) | 6.8 (0.5) | 5–7 (7) | 6.7 (0.7) | 4–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.7) | 5–7 (7) | 6.6 (0.8) | 3–7 (7) |
Paired Differences | Paired Sample Effect Sizes | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SMD | SD | SEM | 95% CI | t | df | p | Standard a | Point Est | 95% CI | |||||
Lower | Upper | Cohen’s d | Lower | Upper | ||||||||||
Recognizing Family Caregivers | 53.4 | 60.4 | −7.0 | 8.5 | 1.2 | −9.5 | −4.6 | −5.7 | 47.0 | <0.001 | 8.5 | −0.8 | −1.1 | −0.5 |
Communicating with Caregivers | 59.1 | 61.5 | −2.5 | 4.2 | 0.6 | −3.8 | −1.3 | −4.2 | 47.0 | <0.001 | 3.7 | −0.7 | −1.0 | −0.3 |
Partnering with Family Caregivers | 54.8 | 60.7 | −5.9 | 8.0 | 1.1 | −8.1 | −3.6 | −5.2 | 49.0 | <0.001 | 8.0 | −0.7 | −1.0 | −0.4 |
Fostering Caregivers’ Resiliency | 54.6 | 60.1 | −5.5 | 5.0 | 0.7 | −7.0 | −4.1 | −7.7 | 48.0 | <0.001 | 5.0 | −1.1 | −1.5 | −0.7 |
Assisting Caregivers to Navigate | 53.2 | 59.0 | −5.8 | 5.9 | 0.9 | −7.5 | −4.0 | −6.6 | 45.0 | <0.001 | 5.9 | −1.0 | −1.3 | −0.6 |
Changing Culture/Context of Care | 55.1 | 60.0 | −4.9 | 5.8 | 0.9 | −6.8 | −3.1 | −5.3 | 38.0 | <0.001 | 5.8 | −0.9 | −1.2 | −0.5 |
Cohen’s d Effect Size Interpretation | Guidelines for interpreting effect size: 0.2 = small effect. 0.5 = moderate effect. 0.8 = large effect |
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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Parmar, J.; L’Heureux, T.; Anderson, S.; Lobchuk, M.; Charles, L.; Pollard, C.; Powell, L.; Chaudhuri, E.R.; Fawcett-Arsenault, J.; Mosaico, S.; et al. Bridging the Care Gap: Integrating Family Caregiver Partnerships into Healthcare Provider Education. Healthcare 2025, 13, 1899. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13151899
Parmar J, L’Heureux T, Anderson S, Lobchuk M, Charles L, Pollard C, Powell L, Chaudhuri ER, Fawcett-Arsenault J, Mosaico S, et al. Bridging the Care Gap: Integrating Family Caregiver Partnerships into Healthcare Provider Education. Healthcare. 2025; 13(15):1899. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13151899
Chicago/Turabian StyleParmar, Jasneet, Tanya L’Heureux, Sharon Anderson, Michelle Lobchuk, Lesley Charles, Cheryl Pollard, Linda Powell, Esha Ray Chaudhuri, Joelle Fawcett-Arsenault, Sarah Mosaico, and et al. 2025. "Bridging the Care Gap: Integrating Family Caregiver Partnerships into Healthcare Provider Education" Healthcare 13, no. 15: 1899. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13151899
APA StyleParmar, J., L’Heureux, T., Anderson, S., Lobchuk, M., Charles, L., Pollard, C., Powell, L., Chaudhuri, E. R., Fawcett-Arsenault, J., Mosaico, S., Sim, C., Walker, P., Shapkin, K., Weir, C., Sproule, L., Strickfaden, M., Tarnowski, G., Lee, J., & Cameron, C. (2025). Bridging the Care Gap: Integrating Family Caregiver Partnerships into Healthcare Provider Education. Healthcare, 13(15), 1899. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13151899