Improving the clarity of the interprofessional field: Implications for research and continuing interprofessional education

Abstract

Significant investments are being made around the world to improve interprofessional collaboration, yet limits in our knowledge of this field restrict the ability of decision makers to base their decisions upon evidence. Clarity of the interprofessional field is blurred by a conceptual and semantic confusion that affects our understanding of key elements of education and practice activities, their interlinked relationship, and their effects on health or system outcomes. Systematic reviews of interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) have provided some insight into the nature and effectiveness of this field, but a lack of clarity remains. In this article we report on a scoping review currently being undertaken to analyze the interprofessional field, improve its conceptual clarity, and identify elements needed to enhance its development. Emerging review findings regarding participants and settings, interventions, and outcomes are reported. The article provides implications from this review and discusses them in relation to continuing IPE and future research.

Residências multiprofissionais em saúde: análise documental de projetos político-pedagógicos

“…It promotes improvements in professional practice and the population's health outcomes. To this end, a culture of collaboration must be created (18)(19) . Interprofessional and uniprofessional education are complementary and both are fundamental to the development of knowledge, skills and collaborative attitudes.…”

“…Several studies mention the difficulty of establishing concepts related to IPE and collaborative interprofessional practice and thus attempt to construct concepts that can contribute to the advancement of these area's fields of study (4)(5)(16)(17)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) . All of the analyzed programs presented educational objectives that aimed to improve the quality of health services and assistance, promoting positive impacts on practical settings.…”

“…To this end, they promote articulations with health policies and agreements with local administrators so that residents can develop practices capable of meeting the health needs of the population, in accordance with the principles of Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS), which are in line with the recommendations of several studies on IPE and collaborative interprofessional practice as a competence for improving the quality of care (4)(5)(16)(17)19,(21)(22)(23)(24) . The use of active methodologies, especially PBL, is strongly indicated for programs that adopt IPE, both in the setting of undergraduate and graduate education and in health services (4,20,(25)(26) .…”

Social Justice, Social Determinants of Health, Interprofessional Practice and Community Engagement as Formative Elements of a Nurse Practitioner Managed Health Center

“…what actually can be measured and what is the most appropriate methodology). The work of Brandt et al [19] and Goldman et al [23] identify that previous research has focused on three types of impact (of IPE/IPP). These are short-term changes on the learner; practice-based processes and organizational level policy change.…”

Graduate Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Experiences: A Phenomenological Inquiry

“…Although all participants felt that their organizations took interest in interprofessional collaboration, Brad was the only participant to indicate a clear focus on encouraging employees to practice this within regular team-based problem solving meetings. Interprofessional education is traditionally thought to occur in the post-secondary education setting, but it can be continued in the workplace through interprofessional practice and organizational interventions (Goldman, Zwarenstein, Bhattacharyya, & Reeves, 2009). This includes implementation of a tool or intervention to promote collaboration ).…”