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

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interprofessional Education
• Design Thinking
• Dementia Care Models

Background:

• Interprofessional education (IPE) is crucial for healthcare. Design thinking offers a framework for innovation in care models.
• Reimagining dementia care requires innovative approaches and interprofessional collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a virtual IPE workshop using a design thinking framework.
• To assess student engagement in developing novel dementia care models.
• To measure changes in students' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration and design thinking skills.

Main Methods:

• A 3-hour virtual workshop was delivered to students from nine health professions programs.
• Participants received a lecture on dementia care models and then worked in interprofessional teams to propose innovative care solutions.
• Pre- and post-workshop surveys (SPICE-R2 and IDEA-DC) assessed interprofessional attitudes and design thinking abilities.

Main Results:

• Four hundred seventeen students participated, with 349 completing the surveys.
• Significant improvements were observed in all domains of the IDEA-DC survey and most items of the SPICE-R2.
• Over 85% of students indicated a high likelihood of applying learned knowledge and skills in their future practice.

Conclusions:

• The workshop effectively enhanced students' self-perceived design thinking capabilities and interprofessional attitudes.
• This approach may be a scalable method for integrating design thinking into IPE curricula.
• The findings support the value of design thinking in preparing future healthcare professionals for innovative dementia care.