Health Mentor-Reported Outcomes and Perceptions of Student Team Performance in a Longitudinal Interprofessional...

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Assessing interprofessional education's (IPE) impact on patient health outcomes remains a challenge.
• Existing research primarily focuses on learner outcomes, neglecting patient well-being.
• Health mentors (HMs) with chronic conditions offer a unique perspective on IPE's patient-level effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate community volunteers' (HMs) perspectives on an IPE curriculum.
• To assess the impact of IPE on HMs' health and well-being.
• To explore HMs' satisfaction with interprofessional student teams.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods study involving 93 HMs completing a survey and 10 HMs participating in a focus group.
• Surveys utilized a 4-point Likert scale to assess IPE core competencies and program impact.
• Focus groups explored satisfaction and perceived health improvements in-depth.

Main Results:

• HMs reported positive evaluations (>3.0 average) across the four IPE core competency domains: values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, communication, and teamwork.
• Average program satisfaction score was high (9.13±1.43).
• Participants reported increased motivation for healthy behaviors, improved condition management, and enhanced overall health status.

Conclusions:

• Interprofessional education curricula can positively influence patient well-being and self-management of chronic conditions.
• Health mentors reported high satisfaction with IPE experiences and perceived significant personal health benefits.
• Further research is needed to correlate patient-reported outcomes with objective health measures.