New IPR Global Publication on the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on IPECP Around the Globe

The Interprofessional Research Global (IPR Global) COVID Impact Survey Group is pleased to share that an article reporting the results of  Phase 1 of the survey, The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on interprofessional education and collaborative practice: preliminary results from phase I of a global survey, was published online by the Journal of Interprofessional Care authored by Andreas Xyrichis, Hossein Khalili, Dean Lising, Mukadder İ̇nci Baser Kolcu, Ghaidaa Najjar and Sylvia Langlois.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sizable effect on interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) globally, yet much of the available literature on the topic remains anecdotal and locally bounded. This body of literature reflects celebratory and aspirational reports, with many case studies of successful response and perseverance under conditions of extreme pressure. There is, however, a more worrisome narrative emerging that pointed to differences in pandemic response with concerns raised about the sustainability of IPECP during and after the pandemic. The COVID-19 task force of Interprofessional Research Global (IPR Global) set out to capture the successes and challenges of the interprofessional community over the pandemic through a longitudinal survey, with a view to inform global attempts at recovery and resilience. 

In this article, we report preliminary findings from Phase 1 of the survey. Phase 1 of the survey was sent to institutions/organizations in IPR Global (representing over 50 countries from Europe, North and South America, Australia, and Africa). The country-level response rate was over 50%. Key opportunities and challenges include the abrupt digitalization of collaborative learning and practice; de-prioritization of interprofessional education (IPE); and rise in interprofessional collaborative spirit. Implications for IPECP pedagogy, research, and policy post-pandemic are considered. 

To read the full paper, please visit https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13561820.2023.2220739  

IPR.Global Members Publish Editorial Advocating for a Systems Approach to Advancing Health Care Resilience

 Guest Editorial - Journal of Interprofessional Care

Advancing health care resilience through a systems-based collaborative approach: Lessons learned from COVID-19

Hossein Khalili, Dean Lising, Giray Kolcu, Jill Thistlethwaite, John Gilbert, Sylvia Langlois, Barbara Maxwell, Mukadder İnci Başer Kolcu, Kathleen M. MacMillan, Carl Schneider, José Rodrigues Freire Filho, Ghaidaa Najjar, Zaid Al-Hamdan & Andrea Pfeifle 

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded everyone of the importance of long-term planning and preparedness. Effective pandemic preparedness requires the engagement of all stakeholders from across the spectrum of care while being aware of the strengths, susceptibilities, and capabilities of the health care system. Identifying gaps in preparedness, determining specific priorities, and developing plans for building and sustaining healthcare delivery while effectively addressing the pandemic and resilience at all levels from the individual, to team, organization, and system is crucial for success. There is an emergent need to build structures and processes that support resilience among current and future healthcare providers, teams, organizations, and systems. We believe that to prevent from and effectively address such crises in future, a systems-based collaborative approach to developing resilience is required. In response, InterprofessionalResearch.Global (IPR.Global) has recently published a Call to Action paper that provides key direction regarding interprofessional responses to address individual resilience, and support the resilience of healthcare teams, organizations, and systems.

Link to full text of article: 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13561820.2021.1981265

Link to IPR.Global "Call to Action": 

https://interprofessionalresearch.global/resilience-call-to-action/

Invitation to Participate in Global IPE Situational Analysis Survey

Dear Interprofessional Leaders and Champions, 

On behalf of the Interprofessional.Global (Global Confederation for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice) and the InterprofessionalResearch.Global (Global Network for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Research) we would like to invite you to participate in the Phase 1 of the Global Interprofessional Education (IPE) Situational Analysis Survey. 

This survey is conducted to better understand the state of IPE at academic institutions around the world. You are invited as you have been identified as an IPE Leader/Champion at your academic institution/university who could complete the survey on behalf of your academic institution. 

If that is not the case, we would greatly appreciate it if you could please forward this post to your academic institution leadership team for their consideration. (along with the survey link: 

https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7UlGJpmvp5RuPrv 

The goal is to have this survey completed by the most appropriate individual/Center/Office who could speak to the interprofessional education program/initiatives on behalf of your academic institution whenever possible. If such an institutional-level person/Center/Office may not exist, we welcome individuals from related academic programs to work together to complete this survey on behalf of your academic institution. Your time and responses are very valuable in this effort. 

The survey involves responding to 24 questions that should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. This survey has received ethical clearance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, and your participation in the survey is completely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time. All information provided through this survey will be held in strict confidence. No names or identifying information will be linked to your survey responses. 

We would also like to request that you kindly share/forward this email to your local, regional, national or international institutional networks for wide distribution. 

We thank you in advance for your time, consideration, and assistance in this important global initiative.

Should have any question/comment and/or require additional information, please feel free to contact us at IPResearch.global@gmail.com. 

Sincerely Yours, 

Hossein Khalili, PhD, MScN, BSNc, FNAP

Lead, InterprofessionalResearch.Global; Director, UW Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (UW CIPE), University of Wisconsin-Madison 

Sylvia Langlois, M.Sc. OT 

Regional Representative, Interprofessional.Global; Faculty Lead IPE Curriculum and Scholarship, Centre for Interprofessional Education, University of Toronto

The COVID-19 crisis silver lining: interprofessional education to guide future innovation - Journal of Interprofessional Care

Globally, the advent and rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has created significant disruption to health profession education and practice, and consequently interprofessional education, leading to a model of learning and practicing where much is unknown. Key questions for this ongoing evolution emerge for the global context leading to reflections on future directions for the interprofessional education field and its role in shaping future practice models. Health profession programs around the world have made a dramatic shift to virtual learning platforms in response to closures of academic institutions and restrictions imposed on learners accessing practice settings. Telemedicine, slow to become established in many countries to date, has also revolutionized practice in the current environment. Within the state of disruption and rapid change is the awareness of a silver lining that provides an opportunity for future growth. Key topics explored in this commentary include: reflection on the application of existing competency frameworks, consideration of typology of team structures, reconsideration of theoretical underpinnings, revisiting of core dimensions of education, adaptation of interprofessional education activities, and the role in future pandemic planning. As an international community of educators and researchers, the authors consider current observations relevant to interprofessional education and practice contexts and suggest a response from scholarship voices across the globe. The current pandemic offers a unique opportunity for educators, practitioners, and researchers to retain what has served interprofessional education and practice well in the past, break from what has not worked as well, and begin to imagine the new. 

Link to article in the Journal of Interprofessional Care: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/NRG9UQJ7FVQQMFJKZ98G/full

For more information, contact author Sylvia Langlois MSc. OT Reg. (On): s.langlois@utoronto.ca

Interprofessional education and collaborative practice research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Considerations to advance the field - a Journal of Interprofessional Care guest editorial by IPR.Global taskforce

Amid a global pandemic, learners, educators, administrators, researchers, practitioners, and service users find themselves in exceptional, unparalleled, and unusual circumstances. The interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) research community has been affected in a multitude of ways and vast changes are being experienced leaving one to wonder whether we are alone in a field that espouses unity and if there is guidance available. In late 2019, InterprofessionalResearch.Global (IPR.Global) and Interprofessional.Global (IP.Global) authored a discussion paper to rouse dialogue and offer perspectives for the global IPECP research agenda (Khalili et al., 2019). The long-term aim was to advance IPECP theory and research by 2022, through recommendations for research priorities and counsel on theoretical frameworks, research methodologies, and formation of research teams. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid transformation to online IPECP, necessitating evaluation of the impact on students, programs, service users, and the healthcare system. Understandably, many are now asking how to continue to move forward, or even restart, IPECP research in this “new normal”. In response, IPR.Global formed a COVID-19 taskforce, from which an editorial was developed, to shed light on IPR.Global’s proposed recommendations for research teams and offer ways to forge ahead. 

Access the article at the journal webpage: 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13561820.2020.1807481

For more information contact Dr. Kelly Lackie, Dalhousie University: klackie@dal.ca