A survey of the health professional curriculum at the University of British Columbia revealed a need for improvements in education relating to Aboriginal health. At the same time, interprofessional education has been increasingly viewed as an essential aspect of sustainable health care reform. Interprofessional approaches to education and community practice have the potential to contribute to improvements in access to care, as well as health professional recruitment in underserved communities. While the benefits of interprofessional approaches have been identified, there are few published examples of the application of interprofessional learning and care in Aboriginal communities. This article describes the co-development by university and community partners of an accredited interprofessional, practice-based Aboriginal health course. Seed funding for this course was originally granted in November 2004 for a demonstration project led by the UBC Faculty of Medicine from a national Primary Health Care Renewal initiative focused on Social Accountability, namely "Issues of Quality and Continuing Professional Development: Maintenance of Competence" (referred to as CPDiQ project). This article presents findings from the development and implementation of this innovative course, run as a pilot during the summer of 2006 in two Aboriginal communities in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for integrating Aboriginal perspectives and foregrounding principles of social accountability in interprofessional health curricula are highlighted. In addition, successes and challenges are described related to garnering administrative and curricular support among the various health disciplines, interprofessional scheduling, and fostering cross-discipline understanding and communication.

Social accountability in the health professions is increasingly recognized as a necessary foundation for delivering effective healthcare. Inter- and intra-professional collaboration is critical to the process in order to transform intent into action. This article outlines the three-year program undertaken by a national collaboration among all 17 Canadian medical schools and their partners as they engaged in a journey leading to the incorporation of social accountability in an interprofessional context as the cornerstone of healthcare education and practice. An overview of the various dimensions of this project is discussed in order to shed light on how a national initiative in collaboration with local initiatives can synergistically work toward a common goal. Successes and challenges in working on a national level are reviewed with implications for future directions for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare based upon principles and values of social accountability.

This evaluation examines the effectiveness of the Saltspring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse (SWOVA) Community Development and Research Society’s ‘Respectful Relationships’ (R+R) program. R+R is a school—community partnership program that focuses on youth development of social competencies that underlie social justice. Youth in Grades 6—12, from seven school districts located in British Columbia, Canada participated in the evaluation of this program through pre- and post-test surveys. Results revealed significant gains across all 12 social-emotional competencies from pre- to post-program when the whole sample was considered. A closer examination revealed statistically significant gender differences that emerged on a small number of dimensions. Youth also provided their feedback on the overall experience of participating in the R+R program which indicated high levels of enjoyment and learning from the program.

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