Promoting Design Thinking Through an Interprofessional Education Workshop Focused on Dementia Care

To describe the design, implementation, and outcomes of a 3-h virtual interprofessional education (IPE) workshop that applied a design thinking framework to engage students in reimagining models of dementia care.

Nine health professions programs at the University of the Pacific participated in this workshop. After a 1-h lecture on the Dutch model of dementia care, interprofessional teams developed their own proposals for an innovative dementia care model. Pre and postworkshop, students completed the Students' Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised Version 2 (SPICE-R2) and the Interprofessional Design Thinking for the Enhancement and Advancement of Dementia Care (IDEA-DC) survey. The postsurvey also included the question, "How likely are you to apply the knowledge and skills gained today in your future practice?"

Four hundred and seventeen students participated in this workshop, and 349 completed the surveys. Statistically significant improvements were noted across all domains of the IDEA-DC survey and in 9 out of 10 items on the SPICE-R2. More than 85% responded "likely or very likely" to applying the knowledge and skills gained to their future practice.

This workshop improved students' self-perceived design thinking abilities and interprofessional attitudes and may serve as a scalable approach for integrating design thinking into IPE curricula.