Fostering Collaborative Practice Through Interprofessional Education.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Health care leaders use interprofessional collaborative practice as a strategy to improve health outcomes, and they have stressed its importance in the education of primary care medical providers to apply public health concepts like the social determinants of health and community collaborations. Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares students from different professions for collaborative practice as they enter the health workforce by developing core competencies. Understanding the importance of IPE is vital toward improving person and client-centered care and population health outcomes. This study aims to evaluate IPE workshops' effects on participants' confidence in applying public health concepts to improve health outcomes and intention to collaborate with local resources.

Methods: Public health-focused workshops were provided to encourage collaboration between Master of Public Health (MPH) students and residents in a family medicine residency program. We analyzed change using McNemar's tests to determine significant differences between pre- and postworkshop responses.

Results: In total, 33 family medicine residents and 41 MPH students provided full data for the evaluation. We found statistically significant differences between self-efficacy levels and intention to partner with resources between pre- and postworkshop surveys.

Conclusions: Results point to the efficacy and value of IPE opportunities in the education of family medicine residents and MPH students. This study presents a viable and useful example of IPE integration between MPH students and family medicine residents. Understanding social determinants of health and the use of local resources to better the health of the community is vital for both groups.