Evaluation of an interprofessional educational program in nursing home practice: a mixed methods multiple-case study

Research has shown that interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and education (IPE) may potentially lead to better care for residents in nursing homes, but their implementation is challenging. This study evaluates the implementation of a co-designed IPE program and investigates what and how healthcare students learn and what factors influence their learning. A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate three cases, with student participation in the IPE (<i>n</i> = 72). The study comprised pre- and posttests, focus groups, and interviews (<i>n</i> = 54). The results indicate that students developed their interprofessional skills and person-centered practice, as confirmed by both the students and educators in the interviews. Additionally, the findings suggest that others also learned from the program. The study emphasizes the influence of workplace learning culture, resources, organizational infrastructure for IPC, and educators’ embeddedness in the care organization on learning outcomes. The findings suggest that IPE is stimulated and accelerated by existing IPC and can stimulate or accelerate existing IPC. As the enabling factors are interrelated, addressing them simultaneously on all organizational levels may result in the faster development of an IPE-ready organization.

研究表明，跨专业协作（interprofessional collaboration, IPC）与跨专业教育（interprofessional education, IPE）或可提升养老院入住者的照护质量，但其落地实施颇具挑战。本研究对一项协同设计的跨专业教育项目的实施情况进行评估，并探究医疗健康专业学生的学习内容、学习方式，以及影响其学习的相关因素。本研究采用混合研究方法对三个案例展开评估，共有72名学生参与了本次跨专业教育项目。研究涵盖前测与后测、焦点小组座谈以及访谈环节，共涉及54名参与者。研究结果显示，学生的跨专业协作技能与以照护对象为中心的实践能力均得到提升，这一点在学生与教育者的访谈内容中得到了证实。此外，研究结果还表明，其他相关人员也从该项目中有所收获。本研究着重探讨了工作场所学习文化、资源配置、跨专业协作的组织架构，以及教育者融入照护机构的程度对学习成果的影响。研究结果显示，现有跨专业协作可推动并加快跨专业教育的开展，而跨专业教育反过来也能促进或加速既有跨专业协作的进程。由于各类赋能因素彼此关联，若能在组织各层级同步推进相关工作，或可更快打造出具备跨专业教育实施条件的机构。