Experiential Interprofessional Education Rooted in the Social Determinants of Health and Ecological Model Fosters Interprofessional Socialization.

Abstract

Objective: Experiential interprofessional education (IPE) fostering socialization to interprofessional teams is essential to clinical practice. Inclusion of authentic patient voices cultivates an understanding of social factors that patients face. We qualitatively assessed how experiential IPE framed around social determinants of health (SDH) and socioecological model (SEM) influenced early health profession students' development of interprofessional socialization while working with patients. Secondarily, we explored how students shifted their mindsets for future interactions.

Methods: Fifty-one health profession students participated in the Longitudinal Interprofessional Family-based Experience (LIFE), a virtual, 13-week experiential IPE opportunity during which students interacted with patients living with chronic illnesses through two interviews. Prompts representing aspects of working on an interprofessional team while interacting with a patient framed around social factors affecting healthcare were coded using the constant comparative method of analysis. Themes were derived and tallied for frequencies.

Results: Themes from prompt related to working with an interprofessional team included: 1) perspectives, 2) informative, and 3) collaboration. Themes related to patients as a team member included: 1) active listening, 2) patients of similar/dissimilar back¬grounds, 3) person-centered care, and 4) awareness. Themes derived from prompt about future collaborations included: 1) collaboration, 2) awareness, and 3) person-centered care.

Conclusions: This SDH-focused experiential IPE advanced the understanding among early learners of how social factors that patients experience are barriers to how care is delivered and interprofessional teams must collaborate to consider factors to support patients.