The decade since the last 15 years has reignited an interest in interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice (CP) globally. The editors of this book believe this was due at least in part to the publication of the World Health Organization (2010) Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, which not only reviewed examples of interprofessional education internationally but also provided a framework that linked interprofessional education (IPE) to collaborative practice (CP) and improved health care provision. The editorās earlier 2 books (Forman, Jones, & Thistlethwaite, 2014, 2015) took into account further work by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2013) and policies which were being implemented in diverse countries, such as by Health Education England (2014). We also included reports on research studies such as Interprofessional Curriculum Renewal and Australia (2014) in Australia, to provide global examples of how IPE and CP were being taken forward in higher education institutions and communities.
Since the latest Cochrane report on IPE (Reeves et al. 2011), there has been an increased interest in research on and evaluation of not only the educational aspects of interprofessional curriculum delivery but, perhaps more importantly, the impact of interprofessional practice on the care of the patient or client.
Many projects have used the classification of interprofessional education outcomes proposed by Barr, Koppel, Reeves, Hammick, and Freeth (2005) as a guide (see Table 1.1). While the aspiration may be to provide evidence of outcomes at level 4b, the majority of studies have reported on outcomes at levels 1 to 2b, with a smaller number at level 3. Whilst some of our chapters and particularly Parts III and IV look at the evaluation at level 4 it is acknowledged that there is still further work to be undertaken to look at the impact of interprofessional education and practice with the patients, clients and community.
Table 1.1
Classification of interprofessional outcomes
Level 1: Reaction | Learnersā views on the learning experience and its interprofessional nature. |
Level 2a: Modification of perceptions and attitudes | Changes in reciprocal attitudes or perceptions between participant groups. Changes in perception or attitude towards the value and/or use of team approaches to caring for a specific client group. |
Level 2b: Acquisition of knowledge and skills | Including knowledge and skills linked to interprofessional collaboration. |
Level 3: Behavioural change | Identifies individualsā transfer of interprofessional learning to their practice setting and their changed professional practice. |
Level 4a: Change in organisational practice | Wider changes in the organisation and delivery of care. |
Level 4b: Benefits to patients/clients | Improvements in health or well-being of patients/clients. |
This book explores research and evaluation and includes a wide range of research methodologies and evaluation frameworks. We hope the book will therefore stimulate ideas and that workers in this field will consider how an interventionāwhether it be educational, practice- or systems-basedāis to be studied and data gathered at the start of any study.
A publication by the US-based Institute of Medicine (2015) provides a helpful summary of the research methodologies that can be used within an interprofessional context. This document also considers the nature of the evidence required to try to answer the question about the effectiveness of IPE and CPāa question which IPECP champions in our experience are frequently asked.
In an environment where research into and evaluation of IPE is increasingly of interest to both academics and practitioners we hope this book captures some of the work which is taking place globally and thereby helps in sharing good practice and stimulating further research into interprofessional education and practice.
How to Use This Book
We hope this guide will help you dip in and out of the book and find what you are looking for within easy reach. We have separated the book into four parts.
Part I, Research in General: Implementation and Challenges contains two chapters: one from the USA and one from the UK but each providing overviews on interprofessional developments through previously conducted research. This research has in each case been led by a national centre for the development and implementation of interprofessional education, although these centres are fairly different in scope and resources. In the USA the centre is the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education and in the UK it is the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE).
Part II, Examples of Research Projects in the Field provides examples of the variety of evaluation and research projects that are being undertaken, the design of these projects, methodologies or models, and the early results emerging.
Part III, Evaluation in General: Implementation and Challenges provides an example of how a national competition has stimulated the sharing of best practice and how the process of developing and implementing the competition is itself being evaluated. This is followed by a chapter outlining a comprehensive framework for evaluating interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
Part IV, Examples of Evaluation in the Field provides further āstoriesā of how evaluation is being built into the process of designing and implementing interprofessional education and collaborative practice. We hope the descriptions of how this work is being led and the challenges being faced will help readers in the design of their research and evaluation of their own studies.
Our final chapter provides a summary of the latest research taking place internationally and looks to the future in terms of not only the changes in leadership of interprofessional education and practice and the research which is necessary, particularly with regard to the impact on patients, clients and communities, but also highlights the need for continuation in the funding of such initiatives if our progress is to be consolidated and further benefits to practice are to be realised.
Reading and Using Our Book
In editing this book we have considered the many ways in which it may be of use to academics, practitioners, students and patients, clients or communities. We believe our sectioning will help most of our readers to find what they are most interested in with ease. However, to provide further help to navigate through the book, Table 1.2 indicates the country the chapter refers to, and the research and interprofessional aspects covered in each chapter.
Table 1.2
Key research and interprofessional aspects of each chapter
Chapter | Country | Key research and interprofessional aspects highlighted |
|---|---|---|
Part I Research in General: Implementation and Challenges | ||
2 | USA | Development of the National Center; evaluation and research strategy; measuring impact on practice; sustainability; leadership; the nexus |
3 | UK | National review of 51 universities with detailed reflective accounts from a selection of institutions; perspectives from key stakeholders |
Part II Examples of Research Projects in the Field | ||
4 | Colombia | Seven research projects; determinants of health; community appropriation of lessons learned; constructing knowledge; sustainable capacity building environment; action research; case studies; interdisciplinary; transdisciplinary |
5 | Canada | Shared leadership; adaptive leadership; responsibility development; boundary crossing; data collection; systematic review of the literature; pilot project; activity theory; transdisciplinary evaluation framework |
6 | UK | Action research; 4 dimensional curriculum development model |
Part III Evaluation in General: Implementation and Challenges | ||
7 | Australia | Implementation; safe health care; effective interprofessional care; rigorous evaluation; measuring outcomes |
8 | New Zealand | Building in evaluation methods; multifaceted evaluation network; understanding of any changes in learner attitudes; behaviours; governance and institutional leadership; organisation and communication logistics; multifaceted evaluation framework |
Part IV Examples of Evaluation in the Field | ||
9 | Malaysia | Interprofessional community-based module; co-curricular activities; problem-based learning sessions; clinical placements and community projects; leadership models required to drive change; processes used to evaluate change |
10 | Malaysia | Joint community work and evaluation |
11 | Australia | Establishment and evaluation; interprofessional student-led wellness assessment services; residential aged care facilities; general practice interprofessional service; changes in student attitudes and behaviours; evaluation by stakeholders and patients |
12 | Pakistan | Organisational change; leadership styles; interdepartmental group level; multidisciplinary and inter-functional cooperation; public health and mental health evaluation |
13 | Australia | Non-governmental organisations; community-based health and social care; development and evaluation of a community of practice model; Australian Health Leadership Frameworkābuilding leadership capacity and leadership skills |
14 | New Zealand | Health care team challenge; implementation and evaluation |
15 | South Africa | International classification of functioning, disability and health; fostering evaluation of collaborative leadership. |
16 | Canada and USA | Positive impacts of patient engagement on health outcomes in different settings; patients as educators for health care students; evaluation of a programme with patients involved in educational design process |
In addition...