Interprofessional Education for Qualifying Social Work

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• Interprofessional Education for Qualifying Social
  Work
• Research Review for the
• Social Care Institute for Excellence
• (forthcoming)
• Imogen Taylor
• Elaine Sharland
• with
• Liz Jones
• David Orr
• Russell Whiting

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Context

• IPE and modernizing agendas
• Requirements for qualifying social work degree
• Previous systematic reviews of IPE
• Taylor et al (2006) SCIE Knowledge Review of
  Partnership in Qualifying Social Work Education

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Review Questions

• What is known about the nature, contexts and
  participants in IPE in qualifying social work?
• What is known about the effectiveness of IPE in
  qualifying social work, and what promotes or
  hinders successful outcomes?

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Methodology and review sample

• Conducted according to SCIE guidelines and EPPI-
  Centre standards
• Thematic analysis 42 studies (from 2196
  citations)
• empirical research
• focus on qualifying social work education about
  interprofessional practice and/or about other
  professions/professionals
• English language, published 1995
• In-depth review 13 studies, detailed quality
  assessment
• examine IPE outcomes
• social work education a significant focus
• sufficient methodological reporting

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Challenges

• Wide diversity of study focus, type, IPE
  initiatives
• Varied research quality including some
  limitations of more robust outcome studies
• Complexity of examining IPE interventions and
  outcomes
• nature of IPE provision varies in all facets, at
  all levels
• all may interact to produce different outcomes,
  also at all levels
• under-theorised

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What is known about IPE in qualifying social
work?

• Wide variation in nature of IPE provision
• Primary aim collaborative practice, not joint
  professionals or flexible workforce
• Outcome priorities more modest individual
  knowledge, attitudes, behaviour
• Commonly with nursing, medicine, allied health
  focus on health and adult services, not children

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What is known contd.

• Most IPE substantial discrete not
  comprehensively integrated
• Classroom and placement based - experiential
  pedagogy
• Lack of attention to service user, carer or
  student involvement in IPE planning, management,
  teaching, assessment

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IPE and the integrated childrens services agenda

• 42 studies included, 5 address practice with
  children and families, 2 address child protection
• 13 data extracted studies, none involve child
  protection, 2 USA studies address children and
  families and include trainee teachers
• SIESWE study (King and Brady 2005) of
  opportunities for IP learning includes child
  support and special education among other
  placement settings

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Does IPE work in qualifying social work education?

• NB What is reasonable to expect? Time frame?
• Primary concern with individual learning
  preparatory for practice
• some attention to collaborative behaviour, but
  little to sustained collaborative practice,
  service improvement, user/carer benefits
• More robust studies are generally more qualified
  in claims for IPE effectiveness

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Does IPE work in qualifying social work education?

• Most successful improvements evident in student
  knowledge
• Improvement in attitudes, skills, and
  collaborative behaviour evident but more mixed
  complex ecology of IPE
• Professional identity development need not be
  harmed by pre-qualifying IPE, may be enhanced

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What works, with whom, in what contexts?

• Logistic and resource challenges
  sustainability?
• Motivation, commitment, leadership, institutional
  support
• Cultural resistance/disciplinary split
• Clarity and consistency

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What works, with whom and in what contexts?

• Conducive learning environment
• Experiential classroom and practice learning
• Timing not too early
• Diversity, disparity and dynamics of learning
  groups
• Individual student profiles and discipline
• Quality of teaching/facilitation

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Exemplar 1 IPE and palliative careFineberg et
al (2004)

• Experimental design, Year 3/4 SWk Med. students
  self assessment pre-programme, on completion, 3
  months post. Control group written material,
  same intervals.
• Focus mutual professional roles,
  interdisciplinary collaborative roles,
  communication, trust building.
• 4 week module, 1 practice visit
• Exchange based learning explore stereotypes,
  reflect on impact of own experiences death/dying
  on attitudes PBL using vignette role play
  family conference
• Observation visit experience each others
  interactive techniques

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Exemplar 1 contd.Findings (Fineberg et al 2004)

• Increased understanding of professional role and
  collaborative behaviour, maintained at 3mth
  follow-up, significantly greater in experimental
  group.
• Students only really learn who they are when
  they have to define themselves and their
  professional focus in the context of others - who
  may overlap with them in some areas and share
  common identity, or be complementary to them in
  other important dimensions of clinical practice
  p. 2.

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Two explanatory theories.Social identity theory
Barnes et al 2000).

• Derive sense of self from group membership
• Groups attempt to establish their value in
  comparison to others, emphasise strengths and
  minimise limitations unique to their group.
• Ingroup favouritism and discrimination vs the
  outgroup.
• External threat may further exaggerate group
  responses.

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Contact hypothesis (Tajfel et al 1971)

• Attitudes should improve if each group in the IPE
  situation
• has equal status
• experiences a cooperative atmosphere
• is working on common goals
• has institutional support,
• is aware of group similarities and differences
• sees others as typical members of their group

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Key Messages

• complexity of IPE ecology
• some indications of what works, with whom, in
  what contexts for IPE in qualifying social work
• some key gaps (children, users/carers)
• more rigorous, comparative and longitudinal
  research needed, about quality of interventions,
  outcomes and sustainability
• better theorization about mechanisms of change,
  towards genuinely transferable messages for
  policy and practice

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References

• Fineberg, I.C. et al (2004) Interdisciplinary
  education evaluation of a palliative care
  training intervention for pre-professionals,
  Academic Medicine, 79, 8, 769-776.
• Hean S. and Dickinson, C. (2005) The contact
  hypothesis, J. of Interprof Care, 19, 5 48-491.
• King, M. and Brady, J. (2005) Learning for
  effective and ethical practice opportunities for
  interprofessional learning. Dundee, SIESWE