Translating collaborative knowledge into practice: Findings from a 6-month follow-up study

Interprofessional education and collaboration in health and social care have become significant items on Canada's policy agenda. As a result, they are receiving attention from different levels of government, health services/academic institutions and regulatory bodies (e.g. Cote, Lauzon, & Kyd-Strickland, 2008). To date, however, only a limited number of studies have focused on the longer-term effects interprofessional education can have on individuals' collaborative practices (Barr, Koppel, Reeves, Hammick, & Freeth, 2005). This article provides a report on the findings from a 12-week graduate level course, which aimed to improve participants' knowledge in a range of interprofessional issues (e.g. nature of professional friction) as well as expose learners to key research studies and theories related to this field.

This interprofessional graduate elective course was situated in the masters of nursing program at a university based in Canada. Twenty students were enrolled in the course. They represented two professional groups – nursing and nutrition. Teaching approaches included interactive classroom lectures, student-led and self-directed learning. The course focused on exploring a range of issues relevant to interprofessional education and collaboration, which were discussed by use of the associated empirical and theoretical literature.

Ilona Alex Abramovich (Social Media Administrator)

Read more: Journal of Interprofessional Care, May 2011, Vol. 25 (2): 226-227.

Ilona Alex Abramovich, Sherry Espin, Abigail Wickson-Griffiths, Dale Dematteo, Lindsay Baker, Eileen Egan-Lee, Scott Reeves.

A grounded theory of interprofessional co-learning with residents of a homeless shelter

Great article written by Gayle E. Rutherford:

Clients, patients, families, and communities must be conceived

as partners in care delivery, not just as recipients (D’Amour, D. & Oandasan, I. (2005). Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(Suppl.), 8–20). Health-care students need an opportunity to understand community member self-determination, partnership, and empowerment (Scheyett, A., & Diehl, M. (2004). Social Work Education, 23(4), 435-450), within the frame of interprofessional education (IPE) where community members are involved as teachers and learners. The aim of this grounded theory research was to determine the conditions that support health-care students to learn with, from, and about community members. This study took place in a shelter for the homeless where nursing and social work students learned interprofessionally along with residents and clients of the shelter. Data were gathered through 7 months of participant observation, interviews, and focus groups. The interprofessional co-learning theory that emerged introduces the three phases of entering, engaging, and emerging, which co-learners experienced at different levels of intensity. This article outlines the conditions that support each of these phases of the co-learning process. This interprofessional co-learning theory provides a basis for further development and evaluation of IPE programs that strive to actively include community members as teachers and learners, experts, and novices together with service providers, students, and faculty members.

For more information read: Journal of Interprofessional Care (September 2011), 25 (5), pg. 352-358, Gayle E. Rutherford.

Interprofessional primary care protocols: A strategy to promote an evidence-based approach to teamwork and the delivery of care

Primary care reform involving interprofessional team-based care is a global phenomenon. In Ontario, Canada, 150 Family Health Teams (FHTs) have been approved in the past few years. The transition to a FHT is complex involving many changes and the processes for collaborative teamwork are not clearly delineated. To support the transition to team-based care in FHTs, a project was undertaken to develop and implement a series of interprofessional protocols in four clinical areas. These interprofessional protocols would contain relevant and evidence-based resources to support both a team and evidence-based approach to care. This paper reports on a qualitative study to examine the process of interprofessional protocol development and pilot implementation. Adopting an exploratory case study approach (Robson, 2002), 36 interviews were conducted with health professionals and community group members who participated in the creation and piloting of the protocols, and with project managers. In addition, observational and documentary data were gathered on the protocol development and implementation processes. The findings from the protocol development stage demonstrate the value of the focus on evidence and team, the process of assessing and targeting FHT needs, inter-organizational and interprofessional sharing, the importance of facilitation and support, and expectations for implementation. The findings from the pilot implementation stage report on the importance of champions and leaders, the implementation strategies used, FHT and organizational factors affecting implementation, and outcomes achieved. Findings are discussed in relation to the knowledge translation and interprofessional literature. Research is ongoing to examine the effectiveness of dissemination of the protocols to FHTs across the province of Ontario and its impact on health care outcomes.

Scott Reeves (Editor-in-Chief)

For more information read: Journal of Interprofessional Care (November 2010), 24 (6), pg. 653-665.