Interprofessional Education Programme for Nursing and Physiotherapy Students Providing Home-Based Care to Older Adults

The goal of this mixed-methods research is to investigate the impact of interprofessional education on the professional development and clinical skills of nursing and physiotherapy students who provide home-based care to older adults in Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is an interprofessional home-based digital frailty management program feasible for training nursing and physiotherapy students ? 2. Can the training enhance students' skills in providing holistic, home-based care, interprofessional teamwork and communication? 3. Can the training improve elderly health awareness, behavior, and outcomes? The study will involve 50 students from Hong Kong Metropolitan University, including nursing and physiotherapy students in clinical placement courses. Approximately 100 older adults with mild health conditions, living in home-based community settings, will take part as care recipients. Students will: 1. Attend a training programme delivered by healthcare professionals, including nurses, physiotherapists, and social workers. 2. Carry out supervised home visits in pairs, working directly with older adults to assess their needs, provide health education, and support healthy lifestyle changes. 3. Use a tablet-based digital platform to record care plans, share information, and follow up with participants.

Students Inclusion criteria: * Aged 18 years or above. * Nursing students: Year 3 Higher Diploma in Nursing students at HKMU enrolled in NURS N222C Clinical Practicum. OR Physiotherapy students: Year 3 and Year 4 Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Physiotherapy students at HKMU enrolled in PHSI N212F Clinical Practicum II. * Able to read Chinese and English, and speak Cantonese. * Willing to participate in the training workshop and conduct home-based intervention. Older Adults Inclusion criteria: * Aged 60 years or above. * Service users of AKA. * Mild impairments (non-bedbound, physically capable of participating in simple exercises). * Able to read Chinese and/communicate in Cantonese. * Willing to participate in health surveys, home visits, and follow-ups, and to receive and respond to text messages. * Must own a smartphone and know how to use it. Students Exclusion criteria: * Unwilling to provide consent. * Cannot read Chinese or speak Cantonese. Older adults Exclusion criteria: * Not a registered service user from AKA. * Unwilling to provide consent. * Cannot read Chinese or speak Cantonese. * Unwilling to participate in the interventions conducted by students. * Severe communication impairments. * Do not own a smartphone.