Interprofessional Health Education Research Articles

Students’ Experiences with Interprofessional Service-Learning Global Health Education Pilot Program in Ghana

Interprofessional service-learning programs can help to break down the education and training silos between public health and health care in the United States. This paper describes the development and implementation of one such program between the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Bay Path University Physician Assistant Program, and the Wa-West Health District in Ghana. The program brought together Master of Public Health students and Physician Assistant students to complete an applied practicum and training experience in a low-resource community that faces significant health care and public health delivery challenges. In 2017 and 2018, nine students participated in the two-year pilot program, UMass Amherst Interprofessional Integrated Service Learning and Community-Based Participatory Collaboration. Students completed projects designed by Ghanaian health officials over two summers in direct collaboration with the communities. Findings from the evaluation of the pilot program revealed that though the students faced some challenges with the program, such as language barriers, transportation issues due to poor roads, and difficulty scheduling meetings while completing their projects in Ghana, the majority described their experience as positive and were satisfied. Some expressed the idea that their experiences were something that they could incorporate into their current and future practices. In addition, they reported that interprofessional communications and collaborations were effective. Recommendations are offered to address the program’s challenges for its continuation and formalization.

Development and validation of interprofessional health education module for the management of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a glucose intolerance that shows its first onset during pregnancy. In India, GDM affects as many as 5 million women annually. The interprofessional collaborative educational intervention is crucial for GDM management. This study illustrates the collaborative effort in developing and validating an interprofessional health education module designed for healthcare professionals during consultation sessions with GDM patients. The investigation involved three stages: 1) needs assessment for module contents and objectives, 2) health education module development by an interprofessional team, and 3) module validation. We received ethics approval from the institution's ethics committee. The interprofessional team developed and validated the evidence-based English-printed module. The module had 27 units and covered six topics: an introduction to GDM and its management, dietary recommendations for GDM, exercise, yoga recommendations for GDM, weight control, and postpartum care. The interprofessional team developed the educational module, wherein there is an integration of the domains of exercise and yoga along with medicines and nutrition therapy. The module was developed based on local requirements and evidence-based practices. Healthcare professionals can use the interprofessional health education module when advising diabetic pregnant patients.

Interprofessional Global Health Education and Credentialing for Higher Ed

Global health issues, including population health disparities, government policy, and pandemics, impact care delivery at all levels. Healthcare is interconnected in ways never seen before, and interprofessional collaboration is imperative for individual and population health and wellness. Nursing and health professions programs have a noticeable gap in global health coverage across the curriculum. Purposeful global health competency integration in healthcare programs can address this gap and prepare healthcare providers with the knowledge needed to address health disparities on a global level. This paper highlights the process developed by a nursing program to embed interprofessional global health competencies in undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula, data dashboard development to streamline competency tracking, and digital badging to showcase competency attainment.

Development of Situational Judgment Tests in Interprofessional Health Education

Development of Situational Judgment Tests in Interprofessional Health Education

Interprofessional education and collaborative work in health: Perceptions and experiences of teachers and tutors

Interprofessional education and collaborative work in health: Perceptions and experiences of teachers and tutors

Exploring scientific writing as part of a learning model for interprofessional higher health education – A qualitative study

This study investigated how students in interprofessional higher education experienced learning with a model including essay writing and perceived the effect on their learning outcomes. The study occurred at an institute with two interprofessional programs at a university in Norway. Students gained new knowledge or new understandings when their theoretical knowledge and clinical experiences intersected in essay form. Common themes were 1) learning benefits and learning models, 2) benefits of interprofessional collaboration, and 3) Organisations, developments, and changes in writing processes When participating in the study programme based on the developed learning model the students felt both their theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding were deepened. Essays gave students opportunities to formulate their own personal ideas, new understandings, new patterns of practice and deeper knowledge, particularly when writing in groups. Experience-based knowledge has been legitimated by the students who discovered the good interaction between theory and practice. We concluded that the model requires good virtual platforms for the groups to function optimally and that essay writing can give students in higher education the opportunity to formulate their ideas in a more personal way. The interprofessional collaboration, in essay writing, was perceived as both rewarding, challenging, but also a reflective learning process for the students.

Framing asynchronous interprofessional education: a qualitative study on medical, physiotherapy and nursing students.

To explore how virtual, asynchronous modules can be used in interprofessional health education curricula and to identify any advantages and shortcomings of asynchronous interprofessional education. A sample of 27 health professional students who attended in-person interprofessional education workshops at the McMaster Centre for Simulation-Based Learning from 2019-2020 were recruited through email discourse. Participants were asked to complete an asynchronous interprofessional education module and take part in a semi-structured interview that was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Techniques of direct content analysis were used to analyze the qualitative data from recorded transcripts. The following emergent themes from participants' responses were identified: 1) the modules, as well as the features interspersed throughout, taught strategies for conflict resolution and interprofessional communication, 2) the modules have utility in preparing students for future interprofessional learning, 3) the convenience of virtual asynchronous modules introduces a sense of learner safety, and 4) a sense of isolation and fatigue was identified as a consequence of the lack of face-to-face interaction in these modules. Asynchronous interprofessional education modules may be best suited to prepare students for future interprofessional learning in a synchronous setting. Asynchronous modules effectively provide an introduction to interprofessional objectives such as conflict resolution and role clarification, yet the competency of team functioning is more difficult to achieve in an asynchronous environment. Future studies may focus on establishing a sequence of completing asynchronous modules for ideal development of interprofessional competencies in health professions learners.

Interprofessional Education in Health Informatics (IPEHI) for Health Sciences Programs.

Given the significant changes the healthcare system has undergone recently; information technology has become an indispensable tool. To properly train future healthcare providers, it is vital to introduce information technology courses in Health Sciences programs. The provision of healthcare services now requires teamwork, which has led to the need for interprofessional education in health sciences schools. Therefore, this study explores the necessity of introducing Interprofessional Education in Health Informatics (IPEHI) in health sciences programs. Additionally, the structure and content of the course were assessed. A mixed-method approach was employed in this study to explore the need for health informatics interprofessional education among individuals with a health-related science background and who possessed health informatics expertise through work experience or formal post-graduation education. Following a cross-sectional survey-based study, expert subjects from academia and the workplace were convened for Delphi meetings to create an IPEHI course founded on the CAHIIM competency framework. 128 questionnaires were collected from three cities in Saudi Arabia. Of all the respondents, 80% agreed that the present health sciences education should be expanded. Additionally, 74% of them agreed that the proposed IPE-HI (Interprofessional Education in Health Informatics) would enhance their knowledge and positively impact the healthcare system. During the second phase, eight experts were invited to identify seven domains, which include health information science and technology, social, behavioral and information science and technology applied to health, information science and technology, leadership, social and behavioral aspects of health, professionalism, and interprofessional collaborative practice. The results emphasize the need for introducing an IPE-HI, as previous studies have also shown that educating health professionals in health information technology is crucial. IPEHI plays a crucial role in producing competent health science graduates. Consequently, experts have developed and validated a proposed IPE-HI course.

A Case Study of Organizational and Curricular Attributes for Interprofessional Education: A Model for Sustainable Curriculum Delivery

Background: In health and social care (HASC) professional education, interprofessional competencies are optimally developed by engaging in interprofessional education (IPE) activities that are delivered sustainably along a continuum. Ultimately, active engagement in IPE is meant to prepare future practitioners for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), which leads to improved patient/client and community-oriented outcomes. Methods and Findings: This qualitative case study explores how four Canadian post-secondary institutions deliver IPE within their HASC professional education programmatic structures. Data were collected from institutional websites, publicly available IPE relevant records and documents, and interviews with coordinators and faculty/facilitators of IPE curriculum. Data were inductively analyzed to generate relevant themes, followed by a deductive analysis guided by the five accreditation standards domains identified in the Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education (AIPHE) projects. Analyses of the data resulted in five attributes: 1) central administrative unit, 2) longitudinal and integrative program, 3) theoretically informed curriculum design, 4) student-centred pedagogy, and 5) patient/client-oriented approach. Conclusions: Using these attributes and guided by AIPHE’s accreditation standards domains, an organizational-curricular model for sustainable IPE is proposed, through which we assert that IPE reinforced through these organizational and curricular supports reflects successful programming, leading to patient/client-oriented outcomes.

An innovative interprofessional rural mental health education model for baccalaureate nursing students

Background/Objective: Interprofessional collaboration is an essential skill for high-quality healthcare delivery, particularly for serving members of vulnerable populations who are managing stigmatized conditions, such as mental health disorders. As part of a primary care-focused nursing education grant, faculty created the Interprofessional Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Experience (ICE) for nursing students. This interprofessional experience focused on educating students on team-based care for people managing mental health conditions and substance use disorders in rural areas.Methods: ICE partnered registered nurses, providers, faculty, and graduate counseling students with 56 undergraduate nursing students, providing students with interprofessional mental health-focused clinical experiences in federally-designated Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).Results: Fifty-six nursing grant scholars participated in ICE. Students reported that they found ICE to be valuable.Conclusions: ICE provided nursing students with an interprofessional, team-based immersion experience, allowing them to develop an understanding of the complex mental health needs of people in underserved rural communities.

Using a meta-ethnographic approach to explore the role of interprofessional education in inclusion health for health and care staff

PurposeThis article aims to present a systematic review and synthesis of evidence on the experiences, role and use of IPE in IH fields by using a meta-ethnographic approach including key concepts, reciprocal and refutational translation and lines of argument. Inclusion health (IH) practice suggests that the needs of excluded groups are more effectively addressed through collaborative working. Interprofessional education (IPE) occurs when two or more professions engage in shared practice and learning, resulting in improved collaboration and quality of care. Studies on IPE to train staff in fields relating to IH exist, but without a settled consensus on the best approaches/activities to foster inclusive practice.Design/methodology/approachThis synthesis is underpinned by a meta-ethnographic approach. It provides explicit stages of data collection and interpretation, while providing space to engage with emerging themes and concepts iteratively (reflecting on author experiences) and inductively (reasoning and interpretation). This study made use of electronic databases and journals for English language peer reviewed articles between 2000 and 2020. Of the 2217 articles, 19 papers were included. The lead author and reviewer completed the review process and a second reviewer reviewed 10% at each stage. The quality was assessed using a modified CASP checklist. Iterative analysis involved PPI and staff stakeholders.FindingsA total of 16 concepts embedded in 19 papers provide insight into the nature of IPE in IH (IH) for staff. It was found that IPE in IH covers a broad group of practitioners and is a complex activity involving individual and organisation readiness, practical and pedagogical factors, influenced by setting, method, curriculum, lived experience, reflection and a learner-driven approach. Barriers to design, implementation and translation into practice were also found to exist.Practical implicationsMost studies used a combination of core learning and group work. Educational modes include mentoring or coaching, reflective practice, immersive learning and people lived experience of exclusion involved in or facilitation thematically centred in trauma-informed informed care, cultural competence, communities of practice and service learning. The aim of these methods was to promote collaboration through identifying shared experiences, problems and tensions and critical reflection of services and organisations. Such transformative learning is reported to challenge stigma, discrimination and misinformation and promote collective empowerment to address social injustice through human connection. Effective models of IPE re-instated the therapeutic relationship and alliances between patients and staff.Social implicationsThis review also calls for the development of health and care workers’ professionalism in relation to their own reflexivity, establishing anti-racist curricula, challenge stigma and ensuring clinicians are aware of and able to negotiate tension and difference identified within the consultation and between themselves. Apart from developing generalist skills, this analysis suggests that IPE in IH may be able to challenge stigma and discrimination towards IH groups by destabilising existing norms and siloed working with the aim of achieving robust interprofessional practice.Originality/valueIPE in IH is a complex activity affected by individual and organisation readiness, setting, experiential, practical and pedagogical factors. Models of teaching are focused on re-instating the therapeutic relationship. There are no systematic reviews in this field and previously there was no settled consensus on the best approaches and learning activities to foster inclusive and collaborative practice.

Towards a global partnership model in interprofessional education for cross-sector problem-solving

ObjectivesA partnership model in interprofessional education (IPE) is important in promoting a sense of global citizenship while preparing students for cross-sector problem-solving. However, the literature remains scant in providing useful guidance for the development of an IPE programme co-implemented by external partners. In this pioneering study, we describe the processes of forging global partnerships in co-implementing IPE and evaluate the programme in light of the preliminary data available.MethodsThis study is generally quantitative. We collected data from a total of 747 health and social care students from four higher education institutions. We utilized a descriptive narrative format and a quantitative design to present our experiences of running IPE with external partners and performed independent t-tests and analysis of variance to examine pretest and posttest mean differences in students’ data.ResultsWe identified factors in establishing a cross-institutional IPE programme. These factors include complementarity of expertise, mutual benefits, internet connectivity, interactivity of design, and time difference. We found significant pretest–posttest differences in students’ readiness for interprofessional learning (teamwork and collaboration, positive professional identity, roles, and responsibilities). We also found a significant decrease in students’ social interaction anxiety after the IPE simulation.ConclusionsThe narrative of our experiences described in this manuscript could be considered by higher education institutions seeking to forge meaningful external partnerships in their effort to establish interprofessional global health education.

‘Equipping health care partners to be better team members; A qualitative exploration of interprofessional education and practice in a Danish elite athletic health and performance practice context’

BackgroundIn high-stakes contexts, sporting organisations commonly employ interprofessional healthcare teams. Yet, it is currently unclear how team-oriented teaching and learning might be structured to help deliver superior outcomes in athlete health and performance. PurposeTo explore whether interprofessional education (IPE) currently exists within a high-stakes interprofessional practice (IPP) environment and how a learning community of athlete-focused health care practitioners inform and develop their own practice. MethodAn explorative qualitative, single case study was conducted, the unit of analysis being a Danish premiere league football club's health care team. Results, discussion and conclusionsA thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data revealed that IPE exists mainly as an informal/hidden curriculum. Key educational competencies were developed through a community of practice with IPP; mainly through peer learning and mentorship activities. These findings highlight an underdeveloped and potentially important area of focus for interprofessional education and practice in the context of elite athletic health and performance practice.

Looking to the Year Ahead

Already 2023 is looking to be a great year for AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Our Annual Conference, PALTC23, held in Tampa, FL, was a huge success. We welcomed over 1,300 people, including 87 Futures Program participants, to learn and celebrate together, fully in-person for the first time since 2019. Some of the highlights of the conference were enjoying a much-needed laugh with our opening keynote speaker, honoring the Foundation’s award recipients and the giving campaign, and celebrating Chris Laxton’s last meeting as our fearless executive director. We also welcomed our incoming Executive Director Michelle Zinnert, CAE. Michelle officially joined the Society on April 24, 2023, and I am excited to work side by side and to learn from one another’s experiences to move our important strategic plan forward. Our Society has now closely aligned our education and clinical affairs teams. I am confident that this change will elevate the ability of our members to make an even bigger impact in PALTC through more integrated educational experiences and clinical products. We will continue to provide our most popular offerings, such as our various podcasts — which recently boasted over 200,000 downloads! A big thank you goes to Wayne Saltsman, MD, PhD, CMD, for starting the AMDA On-The-Go series, which is now being hosted by the multitalented Diane Sanders-Cepeda, DO, CMD. I also want to thank our other hosts, Karl Steinberg, MD, HMDC, CMD, Christian Bergman, MD, CMD, and Alex Bardakh, MPP, CAE, who work hard to bring important clinical information and news in a timely manner. We will continue to explore other andragogical methods to disseminate content, including interactive web-based education. To give all our members and consumers the best experience with our products, our website is undergoing a much-needed redesign this year, which will make it even easier to find information and engage with the Society. Lastly, if you haven’t yet downloaded our app, I encourage you to do so now. The AMDA App offers instant information right at your fingertips to maximize your work in PALTC. You will find links to clinical tools, our publications, AMDA Social, and the Guide to PALTC Coding, among other offerings. On the advocacy front, we continue to engage with key leaders in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Congress to move key policy initiatives forward. For instance, after the release of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality (National Academies Press, 2022) and the White House Fact Sheet, “Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation’s Nursing Homes” (February 29, 2020, https://bit.ly/40DPAbM), the Moving Forward Coalition was formed to bring diverse stakeholder input to policy and practice. The Society has participated as a key stakeholder since its inception, with Chris Laxton as our representative. With Chris Laxton’s retirement, I have been appointed as the Society’s official representative on the Moving Forward Coalition’s steering committee. I am looking forward to representing the voice of our Society’s clinical leaders to improve the quality of life and care delivery of our patients and residents. This is only one of the many ways we are working together with partner organizations to meet our Society’s vision and mission. People have been asking me what things I personally hope to accomplish this year. First and foremost, I want to ensure that we have a smooth executive director transition. A new face brings renewed energy and excitement about the work we are doing, but the change includes many logistical challenges that take time and energy. Second, I want to ensure that all our committees have clear direction and strong support to formulate and complete their 2023–2024 work plans. Third, I plan to strengthen and enrich our new and long-standing external stakeholder relationships. We do not practice PALTC medicine in a vacuum — engaging with other medical and health care societies, government entities, and newly formed coalitions such as Moving Forward and Be Well in AL (assisted living) is critical to moving us closer toward completing our mission. I want to close with another expression of gratitude for everyone who has and continues to contribute to the Society’s wonderful work. I serve you all as your official representative, and I am proud to be part of this amazing organization. Dr. Little is an associate professor of geriatric medicine at Duke University. Her scholarly interests include interprofessional health education, deprescribing, and nonpharmacologic management of dementia.

Psychological Safety as an Educational Value in Interprofessional Health Education.

The Interprofessional Education Collaborative competency on values and ethics is defined as "work[ing] with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values." Essential to mastery of this competency is acknowledging biases, many of which are rooted in historically entrenched assumptions about the value of medical supremacy in health care, popular cultural representations of health professionals, and students' lived experiences. This article describes an interprofessional education activity in which students from several health professions discuss stereotypes and misconceptions about their own professions and other health professions and professionals. Psychological safety in the learning environment is key, so this article also canvasses how authors revised the activity to promote and facilitate open communication.

Demonstrating the importance of interprofessional health education through an interactive case competition at Queen's Faculty of Health Sciences.

On March 4, 2021, OSLER Kingston and KHealth, student-run organizations at Queen's Faculty of Health Sciences, hosted a two-hour-long virtual interprofessional case competition called "OSLER x KHealth IPR Case Competition: Homelessness," focusing on housing insecurity and homelessness. This event demonstrated that integrating interprofessional education (IPE) competencies into educational experiences of health professional students is feasible to organize and implement while also being valuable. Students who participated found IPE to be helpful for their learning. Consequently, we encourage medical school curriculum leaders and student-led groups to prioritize IPE in their preclerkship curricular and extracurricular offerings.

Student-led interprofessional global health course: learning impacts during a global crisis

BackgroundThis study assesses the impact of the Interprofessional Global Health Course (IPGHC) on students’ fundamental global health knowledge and personal viewpoints on global health domains. It explores the evolution of students’ understanding of global health specifically in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsNinety-nine students were selected from 123 McGill student applicants based on their motivation and commitment to take part in IPGHC’s ten-week 2020 curriculum. These IPGHC students were eligible to participate in the study. The study’s design is sequential explanatory mixed methods. The cross-sectional survey (quantitative phase) appraises students’ global health learning outcomes using pre- and post-course surveys, with the use of 5-point Likert-scale questions. The descriptive qualitative survey (qualitative phase) further explores the impact of IPGHC on student’s understanding of global health and the reflections of students on the COVID-19 pandemic after IPGHC. The post-course survey included a course evaluation for quality improvement purposes.ResultsOf the 99 students, 81 students across multiple undergraduate and graduate disciplines participated in the study by completing the course surveys. Mean knowledge scores of the following 11 global health topics were increased between pre- and post-course survey: Canadian Indigenous health (P < 0.001), global burden of disease (P < 0.001), global surgery (P < 0.001), infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases (P < 0.001), refugee and immigrant health (P < 0.001), research and development of drugs (P < 0.001), role of politics and policies in global health (P = 0.02), role of technology in global health (P < 0.001), sexual violence (P < 0.001), systemic racism in healthcare (P = 0.03), and trauma in the global health context (P < 0.001). A positive change in student viewpoints was observed in response to questions regarding their perception of the importance of global health education in their own professional health care programs (P < 0.001), and their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other healthcare professionals (P < 0.001). In the post-course survey open-ended questions, students exemplified their knowledge gained during the course to create a more informed definition of global health. Several recurring themes were identified in the student reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic, notably policy and politics, followed by access to healthcare and resources.ConclusionThis study emphasizes the need for interprofessional global health education at the university level and demonstrates how rapidly global health learners can apply their knowledge to evolving contexts like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interprofessional Health Education in the neoliberal context: inconsistencies and challenges

Resumen Se trata de un artículo crítico y reflexivo que pretende discutir algunas de las incoherencias e incompatibilidades estructurales del modelo propuesto para la formación y atención en salud denominado Educación Interprofesional y Práctica Colaborativa (EIPC), en el contexto de racionalidad neoliberal de los países latinoamericanos. Se destaca cómo este modelo puede contestar dicha racionalidad, siendo relevante para la instauración de subjetividades profesionales críticas y éticas con su contexto. De esta manera se pretende contribuir a la creciente literatura sobre perspectivas críticas de la formación y el trabajo en salud.

Interprofessional health education: going through the neoliberal context

Interprofessional health education: going through the neoliberal context

Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in Health: The production of the common as a resistance device to the capitalistic subjectivation mode.

Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in Health: The production of the common as a resistance device to the capitalistic subjectivation mode.