Setting a research agenda for interprofessional education and collaborative practice in the context of United States health system reform

Abstract

Interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice (CP) have been prolific areas of inquiry exploring research questions mostly concerned with local program and project assessment. The actual sphere of influence of this research has been limited. Often discussed separately, this article places IPE and CP in the same conceptual space. The interface of these form a nexus where new knowledge creation may be facilitated. Rigorous research on IPE in relation to CP that is relevant to and framed by health system reform in the U.S. is the ultimate research goal of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education at the University of Minnesota. This paper describes the direction and scope for a focused and purposive IPECP research agenda linked to improvement in health outcomes, contextualized by health care reform in the U.S. that has provided a revitalizing energy for this area of inquiry. A research agenda articulates a focus, meaningful and robust questions, and a theory of change within which intervention outcomes are examined. Further, a research agenda identifies the practices the area of inquiry is interested in informing, and the types of study designs and analytic approaches amenable to carrying out the proposed work.

The HCAHPS Survey as a Potential Tool for Measuring Organizational Interprofessional Competency at American Hospitals Nationwide: A Content Analysis Study of Concept Validity

“…First, it suggests that HCAHPS could provide a new method with which to explore the impact of interprofessional education, practice and organization interventions on patient health outcomes, which has been the central aim of research in this field for many years (Brandt, 2014) and continues to remain so (Institute of Medicine, 2015). In particular, the role that high performing healthcare organizations can play in improving population health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs is increasingly emphasized as a relevant area of research inquiry for the field of interprofessional care (Lutfiyya, Brandt, Delaney, Pechacek, & Cerra, 2016 …”

Reflections From the Intersection of Health Professions Education and Clinical Practice: The State of the Science of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

“…Redirecting IPECP research questions is one of the only realistic pathways to the creation of new evidence that could establish what the impact of IPECP is, if there is one. 28,[31][32][33] Research also needs to focus on the health care and health professions education outcomes that exist at the intersection of IPE and CP (or the intersection of health professions education and clinical practice-what the National Center refers to as the nexus). Few researchers have studied either this nexus 25,29 or its connection with triple aim outcomes.…”

“…To produce the evidence necessary for sustaining the current interest in IPECP and to move the science forward, a research agenda is essential. 31,32 This research agenda needs to provide direction for the production of a relevant and scientifically sound evidentiary base examining whether IPECP leads to health care and health professions education outcomes improvement. Such an agenda demands the redirection of current research from a program-or projectprocess-specific level evaluating such things as changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes, to the assessment of the IPECP's impact on triple-aim-derived outcomes (see Figure 1).…”

“…The National Center is working on one such informatics platform called the National Center Data Repository. 32,34,39 This repository is built on a comprehensive relational database with a user-friendly data input mechanism, and supports performing analyses. The National Center has also forged partnerships with multiple IPE, CP, and IPECP interventions throughout the country; each intervention has sound scientific work plans, welldefined research questions, and clearly identified outcomes.…”

Nursing Faculty Considerations in Closing the Gaps of Interprofessional Education

“…IPEC further notes that these competencies are an important part of forming a professional identity; however, overlapping interprofessional competencies can be a source of tension between professions (IPEC, 2011). Implementation of IPE has been supported by current and emerging research studies in chiropractic services, speech pathology, education, nursing, and medicine (Bajnok, Puddester, MacDonald, Archibald, & Kuhl, 2012;Bednarz & Lisi, 2014;Gough, Jones, & Hellaby, 2013;Morris & Matthews, 2014;Priest, Roberts, Dent, Blincoe, & Lawton, 2008;Suleman et al, 2014;Ying, Chiang, Chua, & Klainin-Yobas, 2012) as well as governmental and professional organizations (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2006[AACN], , 2008[AACN], , 2011Clarke & Hassmiller, 2013;Lutfiyya, Brandt, Delaney, Pechacek, & Cerra, 2016). Improving patient outcomes may be seen to be reliant on interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration (Keene, Byington, & Samples, 2009;Nelson, King, & Brodine, 2008;Sterchi, 2007).…”