Dear Colleagues,

Persons with spinal cord injury experience significant changes in their physical, psychological and social status both from their initial injury and from many potential secondary complications that may become chronic conditions, requiring lifelong management. As a result, there are multiple health care needs that span across the continuum of care, necessitating the involvement by not only primary care and specialty clinicians, but also community support and services, vocational specialists, social and housing agencies, as well as policy makers with special expertise and knowledge on the care of persons with spinal cord injury. Appropriate coordination of these support and services with a person-centred approach is complex yet necessary, but it is not always possible or available among this diverse group of stakeholders. In fact, the gaps and challenges in lifelong support and service provision for persons with spinal cord injury differ greatly between jurisdictions and countries. Not only is the experience of persons with spinal cord injury affected, the issue with health equity has also been raised. This Special Issue aims to describe and address some of these challenges in support and service provision and coordination, to enhance the health care services of persons with spinal cord injury.

Dr. Chester H. Ho
Guest Editor

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• spinal cord injury
• rehabilitation
• healthcare delivery
• patient experience
• health inequities
• patient navigation
• transitions in care
• model of care

Title: Development and Implementation of the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Innovation Model for Experiential Learning to Enhance Healthcare Service Delivery
Authors: Stephanie Cimino; Stephanie Cornell; Olivia Crozier; Jordan Eggiman-Ketter; Juliane Hong; Thuvaraha Jeyakumaran; Stephanie Marrocco; Luxshmi Nageswaran; Abby Spadzinski; Dalton L. Wolfe
Affiliation: Parkwood Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON Canada
Abstract: Objective: This manuscript will describe the development and impact of the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Innovation Model (ICIM), an experiential learning model used at Parkwood Institute, a tertiary specialized rehabilitation centre, to enhance rehabilitation activities and increase therapeutic intensity through the meaningful engagement of students. This will be done through case studies associated with the development and implementation of various rehabilitation initiatives including different forms of physical activity and mobility programming as well as a project that seeks to enhance access to assistive devices for persons with disability. Participants: The development and implementation of ICIM involved an interdisciplinary mix of students from graduate and undergraduate programs (i.e. Health Sciences, Kinesiology, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Computer Science, etc). These students were organized into collaborative co-design teams along with other stakeholders such as health care providers, researchers, persons with lived experience and other highly qualified personnel. Design/Intervention: ICIM originated from Parkwood’s training and coaching model, initially used in locomotor training therapy at the site. Fourth-year undergraduate students from the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Kinesiology program, enrolled in the practicum course, were integrated into this model that involved various stakeholders (i.e. physiotherapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, researchers, and etc.) From this beginning, we have scaled this program to support several initiatives involving students as essential members for each project that will be described in the manuscript. Core values and principles that we have employed across these programs include the following: • Learn by doing • Fostering bidirectional communication and collaboration • Working toward dismantling power imbalances • Facilitating progression – i.e., Senior students mentoring junior students Each of these have specific strategies that are implemented within the context of the particular Results: Due to the implementation of ICIM, there has been a multitude of positive results and successes within Parkwood Institute in both practice and in research – most notably in assisting a more intentional integration of clinical programs, research and education. Over the past year there have been more than 80 students integrated in the model from 10 disciplines across a wide range of academic careers. Impacts related to specific projects will be described across each of the case studies, with a focus on benefits for the clinical and research programs as well as for the participating students. Conclusions: The ICIM model fostered an enhanced mentorship and student experience allowing for personal and professional development. This model not only enhances program delivery but also amplifies the capacity for therapeutic activities that would otherwise be challenging to attain. The evident success of ICIM has garnered recognition and support from leadership, underscoring its value in bridging the gap between student learning and effective rehabilitation practices. This mutually beneficial relationship not only propels students towards comprehensive skill development but also impacts the quality of therapeutic interventions within the rehabilitation setting. The demonstrated success of ICIM positions it as a scalable model, poised to extend its benefits to additional initiatives across practice and research.