Implementation and effectiveness of an interprofessional educational intervention on patient safety in perinatal...

Interprofessional collaboration is fundamental to high-quality and safe care - particularly in perinatal care. Interprofessional education (IPE) for students in healthcare professions has significant potential for enhancing interprofessional competencies and patient safety. However, current evidence on effectiveness of IPE is limited, particularly due to various methodological constraints in evaluation studies such as a lack of prospective data, structured outcome measures, and student involvement.

In our project SiGerinn, students from nursing, midwifery, and medicine received IPE on patient safety. We employed a prospective, multi-method evaluation study over a two-year implementation period. Structured surveys on self-reported competency levels among program participants were collected at baseline and follow-up, complemented by in-depth interviews with stakeholders to assess the project's implementation status.

Prospective statistical analyses revealed highly significant improvements in competency levels for interprofessional collaboration, communication with patients and relatives, and interprofessional communication techniques. Competency gains varied across student groups, being highest among midwifery students. Moreover, survey and interview statements revealed strong acceptance and perceived benefits from the IPE patient safety intervention. Interview findings further emphasised the uptake of a disseminating role among participating students by peer knowledge sharing.

Our results show positive effects on skill development and encouragement through an IPE intervention on patient safety in perinatal care. Despite several methodological limitations such as small sample sizes, consensus-based outcome measures, and self-reported skill level assessments, our findings provide a starting point for future IPE attempts on patient safety education in clinical settings. Furthermore, obtained insights suggest the value of integrating IPE into health professionals' curricula to initiate sustainable learning.