What Is Working for Practitioners: A Mixed Method Analysis Using the Collaborative Practice Assessment Tool

Area of Science:

• Healthcare
• Professional Education
• Clinical Practice

Background:

• Interprofessional practice (IPP) is recognized for enhancing care coordination and benefits for clients and professionals.
• Despite emphasis from organizations like the World Health Organization, understanding effective IPP strategies remains limited.
• Existing frameworks from the World Health Organization and Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) provide a basis for evaluating IPP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify effective interprofessional practice strategies currently employed by practitioners.
• To pinpoint areas where interprofessional practice can be enhanced.
• To analyze practitioner experiences using the IPEC competencies framework.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Collaborative Practice Assessment Tool for data collection.
• Surveyed practitioners across various disciplines, with a specific focus on speech-language pathologists and behavior analysts.
• Analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data to assess current IPP strategies.

Main Results:

• Practitioners demonstrated significant similarities in their experiences with IPP across IPEC competencies.
• Key areas identified for improvement include values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, communication, and teamwork.
• The study found commonalities in both successful IPP strategies and areas needing development.

Conclusions:

• Practitioners share common ground in interprofessional practice successes and challenges.
• Recommendations include developing targeted IPP training aligned with IPEC competencies.
• Enhancing interprofessional collaboration requires a unified approach across and within disciplines.