A Preliminary Study for the Curriculum Development of Community Care Coordinators: Educational Needs Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: A care coordinator is an emerging nursing professional role in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify educational needs and priorities for care coordinators among nurses. Methods: An online survey was conducted on 661 current or retired nurses from January 30 to February 28, 2021. A total of 17 essential competencies for care coordinators, recognized based on literature review, were used to analyze the educational needs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired t-test, and one-way analysis of variance with SPSS 25.0. The educational needs analysis was conducted by using a paired t-test, the Borich Needs Assessment Model, and the Locus for Focus Model. Results: Five contents were identified as the first priorities for educational needs: ‘Health program planning and evaluation’, ‘Care planning’, ‘Coordinating community-based services’, ‘Case management’, and ‘Transitional care’. The second priorities for educational needs included 'Population health management' and 'Welfare resource linkages via communicating with social workers’. Conclusion: The priority items derived from this study offer underpinning insights for the development of care coordination training program.