The synergistic effect of collaborative interprofessional research in health care

Abstract

Background/objective: Interprofessional research collaboration is receiving increasing attention in the healthcare disciplines. The faculties creating interprofessional educational experiences for students are discovering that they have educational, clinical, and research experiences in common and are seeking opportunities to conduct collaborative research in mutual areas of interest. In this paper, issues of interprofessional research collaboration are discussed, as are barriers and strategies to minimize those barriers.Methods: The authors present research cases that reflect interprofessional collaboration. The examples that are discussed are (a) a research project entitled “UNITED in Faith, Health, and Strength: Pioneering Faith-centered, Community-based Advance Care Planning with African American Churches” conducted by faculty in nursing, public health, medicine and a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University; and (b) a research project entitled “Relation of Olfaction and Cognition Measures to Screening for MCI” conducted by faculty and students representing nursing, pharmacy, and occupational therapy at Shenandoah University.Results/conclusion: Collaborative research proved to be valuable in addressing healthcare practice issues of concern to faculty in multiple disciplines and provided opportunities for synergistic scholarship across disciplines.