Exploring interprofessional education and collaborative practice in Australian rural health services

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Rural Health
• Interprofessional Education

Background:

• Collaborative practice is crucial for effective rural health service delivery.
• Interprofessional education (IPE) is proposed as a strategy to enhance collaboration.
• Understanding IPE's impact in real-world rural settings is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the influence of work-based interprofessional education (IPE) on collaborative practice in Australian rural health services.
• To identify factors within professional structures and socialization that affect collaboration post-IPE.
• To examine how profession-based communities of practice influence collaborative practice.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative case study design across three rural hospitals.
• Extensive participant observation (98 hours) and semistructured interviews (n=59) with diverse health professionals.
• Three-year data collection including audio recordings, field notes, and researcher reflections.

Main Results:

• Inductive content analysis revealed themes: Conceptualizing Collaborative Practice, Profession-Driven Education, and Professional Structures and Socialization.
• IPE's presence or absence before and after the intervention was assessed.
• Profession-based communities of practice were identified as potential barriers to collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Work-based IPE has a complex influence on collaborative practice in rural health.
• Professional structures and socialization dynamics significantly shape interprofessional collaboration.
• Community of practice theory offers insights into barriers hindering effective teamwork in rural healthcare settings.