3.8.2 Engaging with complexity in interprofessional education research (435)
Helen Cooper, Lecturer in Health Care Education, School of Health Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom Co authors: Eileen Spencer hcoop@liv.ac.uk
Abstract:
Background:
The impetus towards interprofessional education (IPE) in health and social care requires exploration of its feasibility to locate developments within a grounded and evidence-based approach.
Aim:
Evaluation of an IPE intervention aimed at developing team working skills amongst undergraduate nursing, medical, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and social work students (n=237).
Methods:
Using findings from a systematic review1, a mixed methods research design was used encompassing two phases: (1) evaluation of an IPE intervention which included e-learning, portfolios, and workshops facilitated by specially trained practitioners; (2) extension of the intervention to involve trained service users in the workshops. Outcomes were evaluated using questionnaires, and the learning process investigated using narratives, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews.
Results:
First phase findings showed that it enabled students to learn from each other (p < 0.0001), it raised awareness about collaborative practice (p=0.03), and its link to improving care delivery (p=0.005). Qualitative data showed that it served to increase students’ confidence in their own professional identity and helped them to value difference making them better prepared for clinical placement. However, it also showed failure to link theory to practice. Introduction of service users into the workshops as co-facilitators overcame this limitaion enabling students to learn and apply the principles of team working; it also had benefits for service users and for practitioners2,3.
Discussion & conclusions:
Findings supported the need to start IPE early in students’ training thus integrating the evolution of role development into the evolution of ‘other’ role awareness. The study also demonstrated the relevance of Complexity Theory doing justice to the dynamics through which the numerous determinants of learning are related. Using this theory helped to improve our understanding of the learning process for professional practice thereby contributing to the cycle of continuous quality improvement for health and social care.
Recommended reading list:
- Cooper H, Carlisle C, Watkins C, Gibbs T. (2001). Developing an evidence base for interdisciplinary learning. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(2): 228-237
- Cooper H., Spencer-Dawes E., McLean E. (2005) Beginning the process of teamwork: design, implementation and evaluation of an inter-professional education intervention. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 19(5), 492-508
- Cooper H. Spencer-Dawe E. (2006) Involving service users in interprofessional education narrowing the gap between theory and practice. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 20(6), 603-617
Source of Funding: UK - Health Service (Local)
Level of funding: 500,001 - 1,000,000
Biography:
Dr. Helen Cooper is a lecturer in the School of Health Sciences in the University of Liverpool. She worked for nearly 20 years as a nurse and health visitor specialising in the field of diabetes before completing her PhD in Liverpool. Her research is centred on patient and inter-professional education and service user participation in training health professionals. She has been an expert advisor to various UK organisations including the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the Medical Research Council, contributed to the UK Diabetes National Service Framework for Retinopathy Screening and Patient Education and is a member of the Medical Research Council College of Experts.