Interprofessional Education in Child Protection for Preservice Health and Allied Health Professionals: A Scoping...

Area of Science:

• Child Protection
• Interprofessional Education
• Health Professional Training

Background:

• Health and allied health professionals are crucial for child maltreatment prevention and intervention.
• Inadequate interprofessional collaboration leads to poor child outcomes.
• Limited understanding exists regarding preservice interprofessional education for child protection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review on international knowledge of interprofessional education (IPE) in child protection for preservice health and allied health professionals.
• To identify existing educational interventions and their characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review was conducted.
• Thirteen manuscripts reporting 12 studies met the inclusion criteria.
• Data synthesis focused on target disciplines, core content, learning objectives, and activities.

Main Results:

• Most studies utilized low-quality methodologies and interventions were not widely replicated.
• Educational interventions often lacked comprehensive content on child maltreatment prevention, early intervention, and response.
• Challenges include institutional support and competing disciplinary priorities.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant need for improved and well-evaluated interprofessional education in child protection for preservice health professionals.
• Developing and delivering effective interprofessional collaborative skills requires further research and development.
• Enhancing preservice training is essential for improving child protection outcomes.