Undergraduate-level teaching and learning approaches for interprofessional education in the health professions: a systematic review

Marwh Gassim Aldriwesh,Nouf Sulaiman Alharbi,Sarah Mohammed Alyousif

doi:10.1186/s12909-021-03073-0

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough most systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) evaluated the impact of IPE on the students’ acquisition of knowledge in relation to other professions, the development of teamwork skills, and the changes in collaborative behaviour, the processes involved in IPE (i.e., approaches to teaching and learning) are under-researched. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review to establish how IPE has been implemented in university-based undergraduate curricula, focusing on the teaching and learning approaches.MethodsThe systematic review was performed in 2020 with three databases: PubMed, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Library. Titles and abstracts were included based on pre-identified eligibility criteria. We used the article entitled ‘Systematic reviews in medical education: a practical approach: AMEE guide 94’ as the basis to establish the aim and methods of the current systematic review from 2010 to 2019.ResultsWe found 16 articles that met the inclusion criteria and reported the implementation process of IPE in universities from Western, Asian, and African countries. A combination of at least two teaching and learning approaches was used to deliver IPE. The findings indicated that of all the teaching and learning approaches, simulation-based education, e-learning, and problem-based learning were the most prevalent approaches used to deliver IPE. This systematic review also revealed a lack of IPE programmes in the Middle East region.ConclusionsThe evidence synthesised in the current systematic review could support IPE curriculum planners and educators when planning an IPE programme. More global IPE initiatives are required to meet the global health workforce needs. Further studies are required to identify the effectiveness of the different teaching and learning approaches in the development of IPE competencies.

Highlights

Most systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) evaluated the impact of IPE on the students’ acquisition of knowledge in relation to other professions, the development of teamwork skills, and the changes in collaborative behaviour, the processes involved in IPE are under-researched
After retrieving the full-text review for intensive evaluation, 111 articles were excluded due to the absence of some details required to be eligible
The results of the present review revealed that problem-based learning (PBL) is more frequently used with undergraduate IPE activities, while case-based learning (CBL) and team-based learning (TBL) were rarely utilised

Summary

Introduction

Most systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) evaluated the impact of IPE on the students’ acquisition of knowledge in relation to other professions, the development of teamwork skills, and the changes in collaborative behaviour, the processes involved in IPE (i.e., approaches to teaching and learning) are under-researched. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review to establish how IPE has been implemented in university-based undergraduate curricula, focusing on the teaching and learning approaches. Aldriwesh et al BMC Medical Education (2022) 22:13 professions, limited communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills and must wait until they enter an actual work environment before they can interact with other professions. To overcome this limitation, the World Health Organization (WHO) formulated a study group to develop and globally implement a universal plan for interprofessional education (IPE) in 1988 [2, 3]. As reported by the WHO, IPE does not substitute the undergraduate curriculum for a single profession but complements it [2]

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