Bowling Green State University

From the SelectedWorks of Vivian J Miller

Fall 2019

Breaking Out of the Silo A Systematic Review ofUniversity-Level Gerontological Curricula inSocial Work and Nursing ProgramsDr Susanny J Beltran University of Central FloridaDr Vivian J Miller Bowling Green State University

Available at httpsworksbepresscomvivianjmiller5

Full Terms amp Conditions of access and use can be found athttpswwwtandfonlinecomactionjournalInformationjournalCode=uswe20

Journal of Social Work Education

ISSN 1043-7797 (Print) 2163-5811 (Online) Journal homepage httpswwwtandfonlinecomloiuswe20

Breaking Out of the Silo A Systematic Review ofUniversity-Level Gerontological Curricula in SocialWork and Nursing Programs

Susanny J Beltran amp Vivian J Miller

To cite this article Susanny J Beltran amp Vivian J Miller (2019) Breaking Out of the Silo ASystematic Review of University-Level Gerontological Curricula in Social Work and NursingPrograms Journal of Social Work Education

To link to this article httpsdoiorg1010801043779720191656689

Published online 10 Sep 2019

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Breaking Out of the Silo A Systematic Review of University-LevelGerontological Curricula in Social Work and Nursing ProgramsSusanny J Beltran and Vivian J Miller

ABSTRACTInterprofessional collaborations in the United States have emerged as ameansto improve health care outcomes and reduce costs Such collaborations maybe especially beneficial in the field of gerontology given widespread chronicconditions and high health care utilization rates among this populationCurrently there is a shortage of graduates prepared to engage in interprofes-sional practice with older adults This article discusses gerontological-focusedinterprofessional initiatives within social work and nursing education Twenty-four scholarly articles were reviewed and categorized into three themes (a)program descriptions (b) evaluation of programs and (c) student and facultyexperiences Following a description of the articles in each theme the authorsprovide a discussion of current gaps and future directions for gerontologicaleducation and research

ARTICLE HISTORYAccepted November 2018

It is well-known that the United States is experiencing a dramatic aging of its population due in part tothe aging of the Baby Boomers as well as medical advances that have increased life expectancies(Christensen Doblhammer Rau amp Vaupel 2009) By 2050 the number of persons aged 65 and olderwill reach 837 million almost double what it was in 2012 (Colby amp Ortman 2014) Older adults oftenhave multiple chronic health conditions and use health care at high rates and this disease burden hasimportant implications for the health care system (Dall et al 2013) Recent health care policies in theUnited States including the Affordable Care Act have emphasized the importance of interprofessionalpractice (IPP) to obtaining better health care outcomes and reducing costs (Young et al 2011) Asa result interest in interprofessional education (IPE) among health care professions has grown in recentyears (Interprofessional Education Collaborative [IPEC] 2016 Jones amp Phillips 2016 Levit BaloghNass amp Ganz 2013) Despite this interest a strong understanding of what is being done to infuse IPE andthe needs of older adults into university-level curricula remains unclear

Interprofessional education

While there are several definitions of IPE in the literature one that is most often cited comes fromthe Center for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) This is defined as

[Involving] educators and learners from 2 or more health professions and their foundational disciplines whojointly create and foster a collaborative learning environment The goal of these efforts is to develop knowledgeskills and attitudes that result in interprofessional team behaviors and competence Ideally interprofessionaleducation is incorporated throughout the entire curriculum in a vertically and horizontally integrated fashion(Buring et al 2009 p 21)

Buring et al (2009) also highlighted that IPE is not simply students from different professions takinga class together faculty from a different profession leading a course or class or students engaging inpatient care experiences led by another profession (Buring et al 2009) Rather IPE spans the entire

CONTACT Susanny J Beltran susannybeltranucfedu School of Social Work University of Central Florida 12805 PegasusDrive HPA I- 244 Orlando FL 32816copy 2019 Council on Social Work Education

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATIONhttpsdoiorg1010801043779720191656689

curriculum and requires meaningful interactions among professions and reflection about how towork together as part of a team with the goal of improving patient care

Several educational associations including Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) haveformed or joined the IPEC (2016) and detailed core competencies The four competency domainsare (1) values and ethics for IPP (2) roles and responsibilities (3) interprofessional communicationand (4) teams and teamwork (IEC 2016) Competency one values and ethics involves working withother professionals to foster and maintain a climate of shared values and mutual respect Thisincludes embracing the diversity and differences that make up the team and respecting the expertisethat different professions bring to the team and care of the patient Competency two roles andresponsibilities involves utilizing the expertise of various professions appropriately with a clearunderstanding of each professionalrsquos roles and abilities It also calls for engaging diverse profes-sionals who complement one anotherrsquos expertise enhance the team and ultimately the health andhealth care of patients and populations served Competency three interprofessional communicationrefers to the responsive and effective use of communication strategies to facilitate and enhance teamfunctions It also includes giving feedback and encouraging sharing of ideas and opinions by allmembers of the team The fourth and final competency domain teams and teamwork involvesworking collaboratively and applying relationship-building strategies such as coordination consen-sus-based decision making and shared accountability It is important to highlight that all fourcompetencies promote practice that is grounded in the following principles

patient and family centered community and population oriented relationship focused process oriented linkedto learning activities educational strategies and behavioral assessments that are developmentally appropriatefor the learner able to be integrated across the learning continuum sensitive to the systems context andapplicable across practice settings applicable across professions stated in language common and meaningfulacross the professions and outcome driven (IEC 2016 p 10)

These principles along with the four competencies and their respective subcompetencies aim to informthe development of IPE curricular goals and are all well-aligned with values of the social work profession

Interprofessional education and social work

Support for IPE has been widely recognized with entities such as the World Health Organization(WHO) the American Public Health Association and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) all calling forincreased efforts to improve IPP through educational efforts (CEPH 2011 IOM 2008 WHO 2010) Asa profession social work has also expressed its commitment to IPE and IPP This is most evident in theCSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards where core competencies (eg 1 6 7 and 8)make mention of the need for social workers to understand the role of other professions and be preparedto collaborate in various aspects of practice such as assessments and intervention at micro mezzo andmacro levels (CSWE 2015) Social workrsquos commitment to IPE has also been carried out via the CSWEGero-Ed Center an aging-specific social work initiative designed by gerontological social work facultyand students nationwide and funded by the John A Hartford Foundation (CSWE nd) This collabora-tion was aimed at advancement and sustainability of educational efforts to prepare social workers withgerontological competencies (Hooyman amp Diwan 2009) The Gero-Ed Center provides educators andpractitioners with valuable tools and resources for infusing gerontological content into social workcourses and appears to have been successful (CSWE nd) However despite successes the focus of theinitiative was on infusing gerontology content only rather than IPE more broadly Furthermore theprimary funding for this initiative ceased in 2015 (CSWE nd)

Given the shifts in health care practice and the growth of the older adult population there isincreasing demand for social workers entering the field to be prepared to practice both with olderadults and within health care settings According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017) employ-ment of health care social workers is projected to grow by 20 in the next 10 years Currently thereis a shortage of social workers who have received formal training in gerontology and only 9 of

2 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

licensed social workers report aging as their primary area of practice (Lustig 2013 WhitakerWeismiller amp Clark 2006) In addition challenges implementing IPE within social work curriculaare well-documented (eg Anderson amp Kanter 2010 Angelini 2011 Buring et al 2009) Growingevidence suggests that skilled collaborations in health care teams positively affect health care out-comes such as quality of care and that collaborations are particularly important in geriatrics wherepatients often present with complex needs (Levit et al 2013 Young et al 2011) Therefore there isa critical need to understand how social work has responded to this need and the educational effortsthat have been developed to integrate IPE into the education of gerontological social workers and toensure their graduates are prepared for interprofessional practice

Significance and purpose of the study

IPE is instrumental to prepare program graduates for gerontology practice within the currentcollaborative context of health care The collaborative efforts between social work and otherprograms (eg nursing medicine) have not yet been systematically examined Identifying suchcollaborations especially with nursing is particularly important Nursing collaborations aresingled out in this review given the close working relationships between nursing and socialwork that are often required when working with the older adult population (Chan Chi Chingamp Lam 2010) A better understanding of the state of gerontology-focused IPE collaborations isnecessary to illuminate gaps and future directions As such the purpose of this study was toprovide a systematic review of the literature on gerontological education programming withinand between social work and nursing programs in the United States over the past 10 years

Methods

Search strategy

Authors used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMAMoher Liberati Tetzlaff Altman amp PRISMA Group 2009) guidelines to conduct a systematic review ofthe databases The authors searched for articles in the following databases Academic Search CompleteAgeLine CINAHL Complete Education Administration Abstracts MEDLINE PsycInfo and SocialWork Abstracts accessed through EBSCO and ProQuest Search terms included varying combinationsof the following keywords social work nurs education nursing education collaboration interdisci-plinary interprofessional multidisciplinary geriatric gerontology and gerontological The asterisk wasplaced at the end of the search terms ldquosocial workrdquo and ldquonursrdquo to retrieve any articles with iterations ofthis root term (eg social worker nurse and nursing student) To be included in the review articles hadto meet the following criteria (a) be published in scholarly peer-reviewed journals (b) examineinterprofessional gerontological education programming within higher-education in the UnitedStates and (c) explicitly include social work and nursing professions Articles were excluded if theywere published in a language other than English or prior to January 1 2007 Articles were also excludedif they discussed programs or universities outside the United States since those fall outside theaccrediting authority of the CSWE and may not be bound by the same standards

Article selection

The initial search yielded a total of 1612 articles On duplicate removal 1453 unduplicated articletitles were screened for eligibility A three-stage review process was used to determine whether or notarticles should be included in the review During the first stage the reviewers excluded 910 articlesbased on their title During the second stage the abstracts of the remaining 543 articles were readand an additional 436 articles were excluded Last stage three involved reading the remaining 107articles in full Following full readings 83 articles were excluded These articles discussed initiatives

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 3

outside the United States or initiatives not focused on gerontological practice This resulted in 24articles in the final sample Figure 1 outlines the article selection process

Article review

Two reviewers independently screened assessed and cross-checked the final sample of articles(N=24) for inclusion criteria Researchers consulted each other continuously using Google Driveto note questions and ideas and develop the emergent themes Discrepancies and disagreements inthemes were discussed and resolved via e-mail communication based on consensus An audit trailusing the same cloud share system was kept to document decisions at various stages of the researchOn agreement on three overall themes articles were divided and reviewed independently Reviewersalso extracted details regarding initiatives article design setting sample and main findings ontoa table during this stage

Figure 1 PRISMA flowchart of article selection process

4 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Results

The articles were categorized into three overarching themes related to interprofessional education forgerontologicalndashsocial work and nursing students (a) program descriptions (b) evaluation of pro-grams and (c) student and faculty experiences Below is a summary of the publications includingdescriptions of the articlesrsquo design and samples and findings organized by theme

Summary of publications

A total of 24 articles were included in the final review The PRISMA flow chart shown inFigure 1 illustrates the article selection process Eighteen of the 24 articles discussed empiricalresearch These studies were most often mixed-methods (10) and quantitative (6) and quali-tative (2) methods respectively The seven remaining articles included in the review wereconceptual papers including one state-of-the-science report (Damron-Rodriguez 2008) Themajority of articles reported student participants (eg in need assessments courses fieldpractice simulations) However one study was conducted with university faculty only(Dorfman Murty Ingram amp Li 2008) The three themes related to interprofessional geronto-logical education efforts in US higher education are described below

Program descriptions

Eight articles described initiatives or efforts that were developed to prepare students frominterprofessional fields (including social work and nursing) for collaborative practice witholder populations Hermann Head Black and Singleton (2016) and Rowan et al (2009) focusedon an in-depth description of the development and implementation process of gerontologicaleducation and further expand on challenges lessons learned and recommendations for uni-versities implementing similar programs The remaining six articles focused on details of inter-professional programs which included descriptions of the fields represented goals andoutcomes measured Across the programs there was variety in terms of delivery of programinitiatives departments to spearhead such initiatives and the length of time that the interprofes-sional gerontological programs were offered For example Ellman et al (2012) describeda gerontological program offered online utilizing Web-based tools in a virtual-classroomSupiano (2013) discussed a course implemented as a collaboration between faculty from depart-ments mirroring the students involved and De Los Santos McFarlin and Martin (2014) andKolomer Quinn and Steele (2010) described service learning projects Kolomer et al (2010) andRowan et al (2009) described multiuniversity partnerships All other programs were housed indepartments of social work (Poole et al 2013) nursing (Hermann et al 2016) physicianassistant (MacRae amp Pardue 2007) and medicine (De Los Santos et al 2014 Ellman et al2012) The course described by Supiano (2013) had been offered six times at the time ofpublication and Poole et al (2013) project had been implemented for 6 years It is importantto note that Poole et alrsquos project was the only one in this theme that did not include studentsfrom other fields Rather the program exposed BSW and MSW students to interprofessionalpractice by partnering them as part of their field work with congregational nurse professionalsDe Los Santos et al Kolomer et al and Poole et al all described service learning projectsinvolving partnerships with community agencies serving older adults

In summary the articles in this theme focus on describing university-level interdisciplinaryinitiatives between social work nursing and allied health professions Some describe the develop-ment of the collaboration and of the curriculum and others share their experiences with imple-mentation and evaluation of the programs More details about the articles included in this themeincluding project or curricula names are provided in Table 1

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 5

Table1

Prog

ram

Descriptio

ns(n=8)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Pooleet

al

(2013)

1Co

ngregatio

nalS

ocialW

ork

EducationInitiative(CSW

EI)

2Article

describ

esimplem

entatio

nof

prog

ram

over

thelast6years

3Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

toworkwith

cong

regatio

nal

nurses

servingperson

s55+

1Stud

ent-nu

rseteam

s2

SixBSW-leveland

sixMSW

-level

stud

ents

each

roun

dof

the

prog

ram

1Forty-on

eCSWEpractice

behaviorsforBSW

stud

entsand

17forMSW

stud

ents

2Topics

includ

eoverview

ofmentalillnessandsubstance

abusehealthyaging

biop

sychosocialaspects

ofaging

andworking

inamultid

isciplinaryenvironm

ent

1Self-assessment

ofconfidence

with

core

competencies

2Prendashpo

sttest

1Socialworkstud

entsworkclosely

with

thecong

regatio

nrsquosnu

rseto

coordinate

services

forclients

2Allstudentswho

participatein

theprog

ram

rate

theirlevelo

fcompetencywith

anu

mberof

practicebehaviorshigh

ly

especiallywith

commun

icating

profession

aljudg

ment

3Stud

ents

dowello

nCSWE

competencies3and5

Hermannet

al

(2016)

4iCOPE

5Article

describ

esprog

ram

developm

entand

implem

entatio

n6

Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

for

palliativecare

practice

7Totalstudentsserved

over

2years

ofimplem

entatio

n8

BSNlevel(253)

9Medicine(186)

10M

SWlevel(71)

11C

haplaincy(34)

12C

ontent

guided

byIPEC

competencies

13R

eadiness

forinterprofessional

learning

andend-of-life

profession

alcaregiverskills

14P

rendashp

osttests

using

standardized

scales

(reported

elsewhere)

15D

idactic

mod

ules

were

developedbasedon

casesand

prob

lem-focused

teaching

metho

dstoprovideclinical

experienceandgive

the

stud

ents

theop

portun

ityto

workas

mem

bersof

aninterdisciplinaryteam

(IDT)

16Formativeprojectevaluatio

nsareon

going

andfin

ding

srepo

rted

elsewhere

MacRaeand

Pardue

(2007)

17InterdisciplinaryGeriatric

EducationProg

ram

(IGEP)

18IGEP

uses

ReadersTheateras

aninstructionalstrategyto

teachan

interdisciplinary

grou

pof

stud

ents

19P

hysician

assistant

20D

entalh

ygiene

21Socialw

ork

22N

ursing

23D

entistry

24O

ccup

ationaltherapy

25Levelsof

stud

ents

(gradvs

undergrad)

variedeach

time

26Team

functio

ning

commun

icationandconflict

resolutio

n

27Student

feedback

28Studentsrepo

rted

that

the

theaterinterventio

nallowed

them

toappreciate

the

perspectives

andgo

alsof

profession

alsfrom

other

disciplines

29Studentsalso

repo

rted

that

the

course

helped

them

become

acham

pion

fortheirprofession

andun

derstand

thevalueof

interdisciplinarywork (C

ontinued)

6 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

licensed social workers report aging as their primary area of practice (Lustig 2013 WhitakerWeismiller amp Clark 2006) In addition challenges implementing IPE within social work curriculaare well-documented (eg Anderson amp Kanter 2010 Angelini 2011 Buring et al 2009) Growingevidence suggests that skilled collaborations in health care teams positively affect health care out-comes such as quality of care and that collaborations are particularly important in geriatrics wherepatients often present with complex needs (Levit et al 2013 Young et al 2011) Therefore there isa critical need to understand how social work has responded to this need and the educational effortsthat have been developed to integrate IPE into the education of gerontological social workers and toensure their graduates are prepared for interprofessional practice

Significance and purpose of the study

IPE is instrumental to prepare program graduates for gerontology practice within the currentcollaborative context of health care The collaborative efforts between social work and otherprograms (eg nursing medicine) have not yet been systematically examined Identifying suchcollaborations especially with nursing is particularly important Nursing collaborations aresingled out in this review given the close working relationships between nursing and socialwork that are often required when working with the older adult population (Chan Chi Chingamp Lam 2010) A better understanding of the state of gerontology-focused IPE collaborations isnecessary to illuminate gaps and future directions As such the purpose of this study was toprovide a systematic review of the literature on gerontological education programming withinand between social work and nursing programs in the United States over the past 10 years

Methods

Search strategy

Authors used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMAMoher Liberati Tetzlaff Altman amp PRISMA Group 2009) guidelines to conduct a systematic review ofthe databases The authors searched for articles in the following databases Academic Search CompleteAgeLine CINAHL Complete Education Administration Abstracts MEDLINE PsycInfo and SocialWork Abstracts accessed through EBSCO and ProQuest Search terms included varying combinationsof the following keywords social work nurs education nursing education collaboration interdisci-plinary interprofessional multidisciplinary geriatric gerontology and gerontological The asterisk wasplaced at the end of the search terms ldquosocial workrdquo and ldquonursrdquo to retrieve any articles with iterations ofthis root term (eg social worker nurse and nursing student) To be included in the review articles hadto meet the following criteria (a) be published in scholarly peer-reviewed journals (b) examineinterprofessional gerontological education programming within higher-education in the UnitedStates and (c) explicitly include social work and nursing professions Articles were excluded if theywere published in a language other than English or prior to January 1 2007 Articles were also excludedif they discussed programs or universities outside the United States since those fall outside theaccrediting authority of the CSWE and may not be bound by the same standards

Article selection

The initial search yielded a total of 1612 articles On duplicate removal 1453 unduplicated articletitles were screened for eligibility A three-stage review process was used to determine whether or notarticles should be included in the review During the first stage the reviewers excluded 910 articlesbased on their title During the second stage the abstracts of the remaining 543 articles were readand an additional 436 articles were excluded Last stage three involved reading the remaining 107articles in full Following full readings 83 articles were excluded These articles discussed initiatives

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 3

outside the United States or initiatives not focused on gerontological practice This resulted in 24articles in the final sample Figure 1 outlines the article selection process

Article review

Two reviewers independently screened assessed and cross-checked the final sample of articles(N=24) for inclusion criteria Researchers consulted each other continuously using Google Driveto note questions and ideas and develop the emergent themes Discrepancies and disagreements inthemes were discussed and resolved via e-mail communication based on consensus An audit trailusing the same cloud share system was kept to document decisions at various stages of the researchOn agreement on three overall themes articles were divided and reviewed independently Reviewersalso extracted details regarding initiatives article design setting sample and main findings ontoa table during this stage

Figure 1 PRISMA flowchart of article selection process

4 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Results

The articles were categorized into three overarching themes related to interprofessional education forgerontologicalndashsocial work and nursing students (a) program descriptions (b) evaluation of pro-grams and (c) student and faculty experiences Below is a summary of the publications includingdescriptions of the articlesrsquo design and samples and findings organized by theme

Summary of publications

A total of 24 articles were included in the final review The PRISMA flow chart shown inFigure 1 illustrates the article selection process Eighteen of the 24 articles discussed empiricalresearch These studies were most often mixed-methods (10) and quantitative (6) and quali-tative (2) methods respectively The seven remaining articles included in the review wereconceptual papers including one state-of-the-science report (Damron-Rodriguez 2008) Themajority of articles reported student participants (eg in need assessments courses fieldpractice simulations) However one study was conducted with university faculty only(Dorfman Murty Ingram amp Li 2008) The three themes related to interprofessional geronto-logical education efforts in US higher education are described below

Program descriptions

Eight articles described initiatives or efforts that were developed to prepare students frominterprofessional fields (including social work and nursing) for collaborative practice witholder populations Hermann Head Black and Singleton (2016) and Rowan et al (2009) focusedon an in-depth description of the development and implementation process of gerontologicaleducation and further expand on challenges lessons learned and recommendations for uni-versities implementing similar programs The remaining six articles focused on details of inter-professional programs which included descriptions of the fields represented goals andoutcomes measured Across the programs there was variety in terms of delivery of programinitiatives departments to spearhead such initiatives and the length of time that the interprofes-sional gerontological programs were offered For example Ellman et al (2012) describeda gerontological program offered online utilizing Web-based tools in a virtual-classroomSupiano (2013) discussed a course implemented as a collaboration between faculty from depart-ments mirroring the students involved and De Los Santos McFarlin and Martin (2014) andKolomer Quinn and Steele (2010) described service learning projects Kolomer et al (2010) andRowan et al (2009) described multiuniversity partnerships All other programs were housed indepartments of social work (Poole et al 2013) nursing (Hermann et al 2016) physicianassistant (MacRae amp Pardue 2007) and medicine (De Los Santos et al 2014 Ellman et al2012) The course described by Supiano (2013) had been offered six times at the time ofpublication and Poole et al (2013) project had been implemented for 6 years It is importantto note that Poole et alrsquos project was the only one in this theme that did not include studentsfrom other fields Rather the program exposed BSW and MSW students to interprofessionalpractice by partnering them as part of their field work with congregational nurse professionalsDe Los Santos et al Kolomer et al and Poole et al all described service learning projectsinvolving partnerships with community agencies serving older adults

In summary the articles in this theme focus on describing university-level interdisciplinaryinitiatives between social work nursing and allied health professions Some describe the develop-ment of the collaboration and of the curriculum and others share their experiences with imple-mentation and evaluation of the programs More details about the articles included in this themeincluding project or curricula names are provided in Table 1

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 5

Table1

Prog

ram

Descriptio

ns(n=8)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Pooleet

al

(2013)

1Co

ngregatio

nalS

ocialW

ork

EducationInitiative(CSW

EI)

2Article

describ

esimplem

entatio

nof

prog

ram

over

thelast6years

3Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

toworkwith

cong

regatio

nal

nurses

servingperson

s55+

1Stud

ent-nu

rseteam

s2

SixBSW-leveland

sixMSW

-level

stud

ents

each

roun

dof

the

prog

ram

1Forty-on

eCSWEpractice

behaviorsforBSW

stud

entsand

17forMSW

stud

ents

2Topics

includ

eoverview

ofmentalillnessandsubstance

abusehealthyaging

biop

sychosocialaspects

ofaging

andworking

inamultid

isciplinaryenvironm

ent

1Self-assessment

ofconfidence

with

core

competencies

2Prendashpo

sttest

1Socialworkstud

entsworkclosely

with

thecong

regatio

nrsquosnu

rseto

coordinate

services

forclients

2Allstudentswho

participatein

theprog

ram

rate

theirlevelo

fcompetencywith

anu

mberof

practicebehaviorshigh

ly

especiallywith

commun

icating

profession

aljudg

ment

3Stud

ents

dowello

nCSWE

competencies3and5

Hermannet

al

(2016)

4iCOPE

5Article

describ

esprog

ram

developm

entand

implem

entatio

n6

Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

for

palliativecare

practice

7Totalstudentsserved

over

2years

ofimplem

entatio

n8

BSNlevel(253)

9Medicine(186)

10M

SWlevel(71)

11C

haplaincy(34)

12C

ontent

guided

byIPEC

competencies

13R

eadiness

forinterprofessional

learning

andend-of-life

profession

alcaregiverskills

14P

rendashp

osttests

using

standardized

scales

(reported

elsewhere)

15D

idactic

mod

ules

were

developedbasedon

casesand

prob

lem-focused

teaching

metho

dstoprovideclinical

experienceandgive

the

stud

ents

theop

portun

ityto

workas

mem

bersof

aninterdisciplinaryteam

(IDT)

16Formativeprojectevaluatio

nsareon

going

andfin

ding

srepo

rted

elsewhere

MacRaeand

Pardue

(2007)

17InterdisciplinaryGeriatric

EducationProg

ram

(IGEP)

18IGEP

uses

ReadersTheateras

aninstructionalstrategyto

teachan

interdisciplinary

grou

pof

stud

ents

19P

hysician

assistant

20D

entalh

ygiene

21Socialw

ork

22N

ursing

23D

entistry

24O

ccup

ationaltherapy

25Levelsof

stud

ents

(gradvs

undergrad)

variedeach

time

26Team

functio

ning

commun

icationandconflict

resolutio

n

27Student

feedback

28Studentsrepo

rted

that

the

theaterinterventio

nallowed

them

toappreciate

the

perspectives

andgo

alsof

profession

alsfrom

other

disciplines

29Studentsalso

repo

rted

that

the

course

helped

them

become

acham

pion

fortheirprofession

andun

derstand

thevalueof

interdisciplinarywork (C

ontinued)

6 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

outside the United States or initiatives not focused on gerontological practice This resulted in 24articles in the final sample Figure 1 outlines the article selection process

Article review

Two reviewers independently screened assessed and cross-checked the final sample of articles(N=24) for inclusion criteria Researchers consulted each other continuously using Google Driveto note questions and ideas and develop the emergent themes Discrepancies and disagreements inthemes were discussed and resolved via e-mail communication based on consensus An audit trailusing the same cloud share system was kept to document decisions at various stages of the researchOn agreement on three overall themes articles were divided and reviewed independently Reviewersalso extracted details regarding initiatives article design setting sample and main findings ontoa table during this stage

Figure 1 PRISMA flowchart of article selection process

4 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Results

The articles were categorized into three overarching themes related to interprofessional education forgerontologicalndashsocial work and nursing students (a) program descriptions (b) evaluation of pro-grams and (c) student and faculty experiences Below is a summary of the publications includingdescriptions of the articlesrsquo design and samples and findings organized by theme

Summary of publications

A total of 24 articles were included in the final review The PRISMA flow chart shown inFigure 1 illustrates the article selection process Eighteen of the 24 articles discussed empiricalresearch These studies were most often mixed-methods (10) and quantitative (6) and quali-tative (2) methods respectively The seven remaining articles included in the review wereconceptual papers including one state-of-the-science report (Damron-Rodriguez 2008) Themajority of articles reported student participants (eg in need assessments courses fieldpractice simulations) However one study was conducted with university faculty only(Dorfman Murty Ingram amp Li 2008) The three themes related to interprofessional geronto-logical education efforts in US higher education are described below

Program descriptions

Eight articles described initiatives or efforts that were developed to prepare students frominterprofessional fields (including social work and nursing) for collaborative practice witholder populations Hermann Head Black and Singleton (2016) and Rowan et al (2009) focusedon an in-depth description of the development and implementation process of gerontologicaleducation and further expand on challenges lessons learned and recommendations for uni-versities implementing similar programs The remaining six articles focused on details of inter-professional programs which included descriptions of the fields represented goals andoutcomes measured Across the programs there was variety in terms of delivery of programinitiatives departments to spearhead such initiatives and the length of time that the interprofes-sional gerontological programs were offered For example Ellman et al (2012) describeda gerontological program offered online utilizing Web-based tools in a virtual-classroomSupiano (2013) discussed a course implemented as a collaboration between faculty from depart-ments mirroring the students involved and De Los Santos McFarlin and Martin (2014) andKolomer Quinn and Steele (2010) described service learning projects Kolomer et al (2010) andRowan et al (2009) described multiuniversity partnerships All other programs were housed indepartments of social work (Poole et al 2013) nursing (Hermann et al 2016) physicianassistant (MacRae amp Pardue 2007) and medicine (De Los Santos et al 2014 Ellman et al2012) The course described by Supiano (2013) had been offered six times at the time ofpublication and Poole et al (2013) project had been implemented for 6 years It is importantto note that Poole et alrsquos project was the only one in this theme that did not include studentsfrom other fields Rather the program exposed BSW and MSW students to interprofessionalpractice by partnering them as part of their field work with congregational nurse professionalsDe Los Santos et al Kolomer et al and Poole et al all described service learning projectsinvolving partnerships with community agencies serving older adults

In summary the articles in this theme focus on describing university-level interdisciplinaryinitiatives between social work nursing and allied health professions Some describe the develop-ment of the collaboration and of the curriculum and others share their experiences with imple-mentation and evaluation of the programs More details about the articles included in this themeincluding project or curricula names are provided in Table 1

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 5

Table1

Prog

ram

Descriptio

ns(n=8)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Pooleet

al

(2013)

1Co

ngregatio

nalS

ocialW

ork

EducationInitiative(CSW

EI)

2Article

describ

esimplem

entatio

nof

prog

ram

over

thelast6years

3Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

toworkwith

cong

regatio

nal

nurses

servingperson

s55+

1Stud

ent-nu

rseteam

s2

SixBSW-leveland

sixMSW

-level

stud

ents

each

roun

dof

the

prog

ram

1Forty-on

eCSWEpractice

behaviorsforBSW

stud

entsand

17forMSW

stud

ents

2Topics

includ

eoverview

ofmentalillnessandsubstance

abusehealthyaging

biop

sychosocialaspects

ofaging

andworking

inamultid

isciplinaryenvironm

ent

1Self-assessment

ofconfidence

with

core

competencies

2Prendashpo

sttest

1Socialworkstud

entsworkclosely

with

thecong

regatio

nrsquosnu

rseto

coordinate

services

forclients

2Allstudentswho

participatein

theprog

ram

rate

theirlevelo

fcompetencywith

anu

mberof

practicebehaviorshigh

ly

especiallywith

commun

icating

profession

aljudg

ment

3Stud

ents

dowello

nCSWE

competencies3and5

Hermannet

al

(2016)

4iCOPE

5Article

describ

esprog

ram

developm

entand

implem

entatio

n6

Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

for

palliativecare

practice

7Totalstudentsserved

over

2years

ofimplem

entatio

n8

BSNlevel(253)

9Medicine(186)

10M

SWlevel(71)

11C

haplaincy(34)

12C

ontent

guided

byIPEC

competencies

13R

eadiness

forinterprofessional

learning

andend-of-life

profession

alcaregiverskills

14P

rendashp

osttests

using

standardized

scales

(reported

elsewhere)

15D

idactic

mod

ules

were

developedbasedon

casesand

prob

lem-focused

teaching

metho

dstoprovideclinical

experienceandgive

the

stud

ents

theop

portun

ityto

workas

mem

bersof

aninterdisciplinaryteam

(IDT)

16Formativeprojectevaluatio

nsareon

going

andfin

ding

srepo

rted

elsewhere

MacRaeand

Pardue

(2007)

17InterdisciplinaryGeriatric

EducationProg

ram

(IGEP)

18IGEP

uses

ReadersTheateras

aninstructionalstrategyto

teachan

interdisciplinary

grou

pof

stud

ents

19P

hysician

assistant

20D

entalh

ygiene

21Socialw

ork

22N

ursing

23D

entistry

24O

ccup

ationaltherapy

25Levelsof

stud

ents

(gradvs

undergrad)

variedeach

time

26Team

functio

ning

commun

icationandconflict

resolutio

n

27Student

feedback

28Studentsrepo

rted

that

the

theaterinterventio

nallowed

them

toappreciate

the

perspectives

andgo

alsof

profession

alsfrom

other

disciplines

29Studentsalso

repo

rted

that

the

course

helped

them

become

acham

pion

fortheirprofession

andun

derstand

thevalueof

interdisciplinarywork (C

ontinued)

6 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Results

The articles were categorized into three overarching themes related to interprofessional education forgerontologicalndashsocial work and nursing students (a) program descriptions (b) evaluation of pro-grams and (c) student and faculty experiences Below is a summary of the publications includingdescriptions of the articlesrsquo design and samples and findings organized by theme

Summary of publications

A total of 24 articles were included in the final review The PRISMA flow chart shown inFigure 1 illustrates the article selection process Eighteen of the 24 articles discussed empiricalresearch These studies were most often mixed-methods (10) and quantitative (6) and quali-tative (2) methods respectively The seven remaining articles included in the review wereconceptual papers including one state-of-the-science report (Damron-Rodriguez 2008) Themajority of articles reported student participants (eg in need assessments courses fieldpractice simulations) However one study was conducted with university faculty only(Dorfman Murty Ingram amp Li 2008) The three themes related to interprofessional geronto-logical education efforts in US higher education are described below

Program descriptions

Eight articles described initiatives or efforts that were developed to prepare students frominterprofessional fields (including social work and nursing) for collaborative practice witholder populations Hermann Head Black and Singleton (2016) and Rowan et al (2009) focusedon an in-depth description of the development and implementation process of gerontologicaleducation and further expand on challenges lessons learned and recommendations for uni-versities implementing similar programs The remaining six articles focused on details of inter-professional programs which included descriptions of the fields represented goals andoutcomes measured Across the programs there was variety in terms of delivery of programinitiatives departments to spearhead such initiatives and the length of time that the interprofes-sional gerontological programs were offered For example Ellman et al (2012) describeda gerontological program offered online utilizing Web-based tools in a virtual-classroomSupiano (2013) discussed a course implemented as a collaboration between faculty from depart-ments mirroring the students involved and De Los Santos McFarlin and Martin (2014) andKolomer Quinn and Steele (2010) described service learning projects Kolomer et al (2010) andRowan et al (2009) described multiuniversity partnerships All other programs were housed indepartments of social work (Poole et al 2013) nursing (Hermann et al 2016) physicianassistant (MacRae amp Pardue 2007) and medicine (De Los Santos et al 2014 Ellman et al2012) The course described by Supiano (2013) had been offered six times at the time ofpublication and Poole et al (2013) project had been implemented for 6 years It is importantto note that Poole et alrsquos project was the only one in this theme that did not include studentsfrom other fields Rather the program exposed BSW and MSW students to interprofessionalpractice by partnering them as part of their field work with congregational nurse professionalsDe Los Santos et al Kolomer et al and Poole et al all described service learning projectsinvolving partnerships with community agencies serving older adults

In summary the articles in this theme focus on describing university-level interdisciplinaryinitiatives between social work nursing and allied health professions Some describe the develop-ment of the collaboration and of the curriculum and others share their experiences with imple-mentation and evaluation of the programs More details about the articles included in this themeincluding project or curricula names are provided in Table 1

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 5

Table1

Prog

ram

Descriptio

ns(n=8)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Pooleet

al

(2013)

1Co

ngregatio

nalS

ocialW

ork

EducationInitiative(CSW

EI)

2Article

describ

esimplem

entatio

nof

prog

ram

over

thelast6years

3Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

toworkwith

cong

regatio

nal

nurses

servingperson

s55+

1Stud

ent-nu

rseteam

s2

SixBSW-leveland

sixMSW

-level

stud

ents

each

roun

dof

the

prog

ram

1Forty-on

eCSWEpractice

behaviorsforBSW

stud

entsand

17forMSW

stud

ents

2Topics

includ

eoverview

ofmentalillnessandsubstance

abusehealthyaging

biop

sychosocialaspects

ofaging

andworking

inamultid

isciplinaryenvironm

ent

1Self-assessment

ofconfidence

with

core

competencies

2Prendashpo

sttest

1Socialworkstud

entsworkclosely

with

thecong

regatio

nrsquosnu

rseto

coordinate

services

forclients

2Allstudentswho

participatein

theprog

ram

rate

theirlevelo

fcompetencywith

anu

mberof

practicebehaviorshigh

ly

especiallywith

commun

icating

profession

aljudg

ment

3Stud

ents

dowello

nCSWE

competencies3and5

Hermannet

al

(2016)

4iCOPE

5Article

describ

esprog

ram

developm

entand

implem

entatio

n6

Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

for

palliativecare

practice

7Totalstudentsserved

over

2years

ofimplem

entatio

n8

BSNlevel(253)

9Medicine(186)

10M

SWlevel(71)

11C

haplaincy(34)

12C

ontent

guided

byIPEC

competencies

13R

eadiness

forinterprofessional

learning

andend-of-life

profession

alcaregiverskills

14P

rendashp

osttests

using

standardized

scales

(reported

elsewhere)

15D

idactic

mod

ules

were

developedbasedon

casesand

prob

lem-focused

teaching

metho

dstoprovideclinical

experienceandgive

the

stud

ents

theop

portun

ityto

workas

mem

bersof

aninterdisciplinaryteam

(IDT)

16Formativeprojectevaluatio

nsareon

going

andfin

ding

srepo

rted

elsewhere

MacRaeand

Pardue

(2007)

17InterdisciplinaryGeriatric

EducationProg

ram

(IGEP)

18IGEP

uses

ReadersTheateras

aninstructionalstrategyto

teachan

interdisciplinary

grou

pof

stud

ents

19P

hysician

assistant

20D

entalh

ygiene

21Socialw

ork

22N

ursing

23D

entistry

24O

ccup

ationaltherapy

25Levelsof

stud

ents

(gradvs

undergrad)

variedeach

time

26Team

functio

ning

commun

icationandconflict

resolutio

n

27Student

feedback

28Studentsrepo

rted

that

the

theaterinterventio

nallowed

them

toappreciate

the

perspectives

andgo

alsof

profession

alsfrom

other

disciplines

29Studentsalso

repo

rted

that

the

course

helped

them

become

acham

pion

fortheirprofession

andun

derstand

thevalueof

interdisciplinarywork (C

ontinued)

6 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

Prog

ram

Descriptio

ns(n=8)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Pooleet

al

(2013)

1Co

ngregatio

nalS

ocialW

ork

EducationInitiative(CSW

EI)

2Article

describ

esimplem

entatio

nof

prog

ram

over

thelast6years

3Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

toworkwith

cong

regatio

nal

nurses

servingperson

s55+

1Stud

ent-nu

rseteam

s2

SixBSW-leveland

sixMSW

-level

stud

ents

each

roun

dof

the

prog

ram

1Forty-on

eCSWEpractice

behaviorsforBSW

stud

entsand

17forMSW

stud

ents

2Topics

includ

eoverview

ofmentalillnessandsubstance

abusehealthyaging

biop

sychosocialaspects

ofaging

andworking

inamultid

isciplinaryenvironm

ent

1Self-assessment

ofconfidence

with

core

competencies

2Prendashpo

sttest

1Socialworkstud

entsworkclosely

with

thecong

regatio

nrsquosnu

rseto

coordinate

services

forclients

2Allstudentswho

participatein

theprog

ram

rate

theirlevelo

fcompetencywith

anu

mberof

practicebehaviorshigh

ly

especiallywith

commun

icating

profession

aljudg

ment

3Stud

ents

dowello

nCSWE

competencies3and5

Hermannet

al

(2016)

4iCOPE

5Article

describ

esprog

ram

developm

entand

implem

entatio

n6

Prog

ram

prepares

stud

ents

for

palliativecare

practice

7Totalstudentsserved

over

2years

ofimplem

entatio

n8

BSNlevel(253)

9Medicine(186)

10M

SWlevel(71)

11C

haplaincy(34)

12C

ontent

guided

byIPEC

competencies

13R

eadiness

forinterprofessional

learning

andend-of-life

profession

alcaregiverskills

14P

rendashp

osttests

using

standardized

scales

(reported

elsewhere)

15D

idactic

mod

ules

were

developedbasedon

casesand

prob

lem-focused

teaching

metho

dstoprovideclinical

experienceandgive

the

stud

ents

theop

portun

ityto

workas

mem

bersof

aninterdisciplinaryteam

(IDT)

16Formativeprojectevaluatio

nsareon

going

andfin

ding

srepo

rted

elsewhere

MacRaeand

Pardue

(2007)

17InterdisciplinaryGeriatric

EducationProg

ram

(IGEP)

18IGEP

uses

ReadersTheateras

aninstructionalstrategyto

teachan

interdisciplinary

grou

pof

stud

ents

19P

hysician

assistant

20D

entalh

ygiene

21Socialw

ork

22N

ursing

23D

entistry

24O

ccup

ationaltherapy

25Levelsof

stud

ents

(gradvs

undergrad)

variedeach

time

26Team

functio

ning

commun

icationandconflict

resolutio

n

27Student

feedback

28Studentsrepo

rted

that

the

theaterinterventio

nallowed

them

toappreciate

the

perspectives

andgo

alsof

profession

alsfrom

other

disciplines

29Studentsalso

repo

rted

that

the

course

helped

them

become

acham

pion

fortheirprofession

andun

derstand

thevalueof

interdisciplinarywork (C

ontinued)

6 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Ellman

etal

(2012)

30P

rogram

consistin

gof

anon

lineinteractivecase-based

mod

uleandalivesimulation

worksho

pcreatedto

teachan

interdisciplinarygrou

pof

stud

ents

abou

tpalliativecare

31M

edicine

32C

haplaincy

33M

SWlevel

34G

radu

ate-leveln

ursing

355

objectivesg

oalsof

palliative

careo

pioidmisconceptio

ns

spiritual

andcultu

raln

eeds

clinicalfeatures

ofimminent

death

andun

derstand

ingof

interdisciplinaryteam

roles

36Two-hu

ndred

andeleven

total

stud

ent

reflections

37Three-hun

dred

andnine

stud

ent

questio

nnaires

usingLikert

scales

toevaluate

prog

ram

38Q

ualitativedata

indicatedthat

allstudentsun

derstood

each

otherrsquos

rolesandvalued

team

efforts

39Student

feedback

also

show

edthey

foun

dtheprog

ram

useful

andeducational(meanof

45

onLikertscale)

40A

utho

rsrecommendfuture

testingof

interventio

nin

other

educationalsettin

gs

DeLosSantos

McFarlinamp

Martin

(2014)

41G

reen

Family

Neigh

borhoodH

ELP

42A

rticle

describ

esalong

itudinal

interprofessionalservice-

learning

prog

ram

that

prepares

stud

ents

for

commun

ity-based

practice

43M

edicine

44B

SWlevel

45M

SWlevel

46Law

47B

SNlevel

48G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

49The

faculty

andstud

entmakeupis

also

diverse

50G

uidedby

Interprofessional

EducationCo

llabo

rative

competencies(IPEC)

51C

onceptsof

team

work

commun

ication

profession

alismand

critical

thinking

52O

ngoing

feedback

from

stud

ents

and

commun

itymem

bers

receivingcare

regardingthe

prog

ram

53The

prog

ram

hasfocused

specifically

onimprovinghealth

outcom

esof

medically

underservedcommun

ities

54Student

team

scond

uctedover

1777ho

mevisits

toover

248

households

ina2-year

perio

d55Studentsengage

incase

presentatio

nsto

adiverse

faculty

grou

pSupiano(2013)

56A

rticle

describ

esagraduate

course

teaching

interdisciplinarypalliativecare

practices

57G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

58P

harm

acy

59M

SW-levelstudents

60G

eron

tology

61The

course

istaug

htby

faculty

from

thesamedisciplines

62C

orepalliativecare

know

ledg

e63R

oles

ofeach

disciplinein

apalliativecare

team

64D

iscussions

post-cou

rse

focusgrou

ps

andin-team

projects

and

grou

pperformance

used

toevaluate

65The

stud

ents

show

edthat

they

gained

know

ledg

eabou

ttheir

ownandeach

otherrsquos

disciplinesrsquoroles

inpalliative

care

66The

author

recommends

that

thecourse

befurtherd

evelop

edandreplicatedincluding

stud

ents

from

otherfieldswho

arerepresentedin

palliative

care

team

s

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 7

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table1

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Prog

ram

Profession

sCo

ntent

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Kolomer

etal

(2010)

67Service

learning

project

consistin

gof

health

fairs

for

theprom

otionandscreening

ofolderadults

atcommun

itycenters

68C

ollabo

rativeeffortbetween

twoun

iversitiesstud

entsand

commun

itysenior

centers

69B

SNlevel

70G

radu

ate-

leveln

ursing

71B

SWlevel

72M

SWlevel

73A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionallearning

74Teamworkandcollabo

ratio

n75N

egativeprofession

alidentity

76P

ositive

profession

alidentity

77Two-page

questio

nnaire

toevaluate

their

interprofessional

learning

experience

78R

eadiness

for

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

questio

nnaire

(34

subscales

used)

79Studentschosetheirdesired

boothto

workat

thehealth

fair

undertheirprofessorrsquos

guidance

80A

lthou

ghstud

ents

expressed

strong

identificationwith

their

ownprofession

sthey

had

ahigh

willingn

essto

shareand

learnskillsof

otherdisciplines

81Student

scores

also

demon

stratedthat

learning

the

valueof

interdisciplinary

commun

icationwas

helpful

Rowan

etal

(2009)

82Evidence-basedGeriatric

Evaluatio

nandSelf-

Managem

entServices

(GEM

S)projectwhich

serves

commun

ity-dwellingolder

adults

83A

rticle

describ

estheprocess

ofimplem

entin

gGEM

Sas

well

aschalleng

esandlesson

slearned

84B

achelorrsquos-or

masterrsquos-levelP

Tstud

ents

(17)

85M

SW-levelstudents(22)

86M

SW-levelp

rofessionals(14)

87M

inimum

bachelor-levelP

Tprofession

als(13)

88G

eriatricassessments

89H

ealth

self-managem

ent

90Telehealth

91Truefalseand

multip

le-cho

ice

onlinemod

ule

tests

92Twomod

ules

oftheGeriatric

SocialWork

Competency

ScaleII

93Studentsstated

they

had

positiveexperiences

and

appreciatedtheservicedelivery

metho

d94A

utho

rsdiscussob

staclesfaced

ininterdisciplinarytraining

servicedeliveryandproject

evaluatio

n95A

utho

rsconclude

that

the

initiativecanbe

replicated

inotherun

iversitiesto

improve

educationalo

utcomes

8 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Evaluation of programs

Eleven of the 24 publications discussed empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE pro-grams The majority of the program evaluations identified used mixed-methods (6) followed byquantitative (4) and qualitative designs (1) The programs being evaluated varied in their approachto the educational interventions Some were case simulations or scenarios (Heuer GeislerKamienski Langevin amp OrsquoSullivan 2010 Murphy amp Nimmagadda 2015) using students facultyor actors (Forrest amp Derrick 2010) Heuer et al (2010) is the only evaluation in this review that didnot include students from multiple fields Instead medical students participated in simulations withall other roles played by interprofessional faculty Heflin et al (2014) included faculty from multiplefields including social work but were unable to enroll a social work student in the course Despitethis social work students were among the intended audience Aiguier Oboeuf Cobbaut and Vanpee(2015) tested the effectiveness of activity confrontation as an educational approach Students fromnursing medicine social work and physiotherapy working in field placements were filmed perform-ing various activities and asked to analyze the recordings Other initiatives used more traditionalapproaches such as seminars (Chan Mok Po-ying amp Man-chun 2009) teaching sessionscourses(Head et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014) and real-life practice experiences in field (Conti et al 2016Sheppard et al 2015)

Interventions also differed in terms of participants gerontological topics of focus and aims Inaddition to nursing and social work fields required for inclusion in this review many initiativesinvolved medical occupational physical and speech therapy pharmacy and nutrition students (egConti et al 2016 Park Hawkins Hamlin Hawkins amp Bamdas 2014) Some initiatives also includedstudents from other fields that often work with older adults For example Sheppard et al (2015)included students from dentistry and optometry fields and both Head et al (2016) and Forrest andDerrick (2010) included chaplaincy and clergy students respectively

While all initiatives targeted gerontological interprofessional practice some focused specificallyon enhancing competencies associated with a particular area or setting of practice For exampleForrest and Derrickrsquos (2010) program aimed to introduce students to end-of-life care and findingssuggested that it helped confirm or generate studentsrsquo desire to work with terminally ill patientsSimilarly Head et alrsquos (2016) intervention focused exclusively on improving interprofessionalpractice in palliative care and Conti et al (2016) and Sheppard et al (2015) focused on improvingcollaborations within nursing homes and during home visits In addition to the topic or setting-specific initiatives all initiatives shared the goal of preparing students for interprofessional colla-borations To this end educational initiatives focused on helping students understand each otherrsquosroles within the interdisciplinary team and develop a sense of appreciation for team-based practice(Heuer et al 2010) Others focused on improving studentsrsquo attitudes and preparedness for inter-professional teamwork (Bonifas amp Gray 2013 Conti et al 2016 Heflin et al 2014 Park et al 2014)and developing caring dispositions in students (Chan et al 2009)

In summary the articles in this theme disseminate findings to the academic community based onevaluations of their programs The research designs constructs measured and data collectionmethods varied Most studies reported that their educational initiatives were successful in achievingsome or all of the aims and some also discussed challenges and recommendations for futurerenditions of the initiatives More details about the articles in this theme including a descriptionof methods participants outcome measures and findings are provided in Table 2

Student and faculty experiences

Descriptions of nursing and social work students and faculty responses and experiences related tothe IPE collaborations were emphasized across five articles included in the final sample Studentswho participated in these IPE programs reported gaining a broad perspective of aging and workingwith older adult populations (Brooks Fox amp Okagbue-Reaves 2009) In one study assessing student

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 9

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

Evaluatio

nof

Prog

rams(n=11)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Aigu

ieret

al(2015)

1Qualitativeevaluatio

nof

the

effectivenessof

anactivity

confrontationeducational

fram

eworkto

developan

interdisciplinaryeducation

training

prog

ram

2Dataevaluatedusingan

indu

ctivediscou

rseanalysis

inform

edby

grou

nded

theory

3Nursing

(3)

4Medicine(1)

5Socialwork(1)

6Ph

ysiotherapy(1)

7Stud

ents

selected

regardless

ofprog

ram

level

1Self-confrontation(by

stud

ents

oftheirrecorded

activity)

2Co

llectiveconfrontation

(studentsqu

alified

profession

als)

1Filmsandtranscrip

tsanalyzed

2Ch

ange

intim

eallocatio

nto

each

type

ofconfrontationassessed

1Themetho

dsprop

osed

encouraged

reflexive

analysisof

themotives

forchoosing

interprofessionalb

ehaviors

2Find

ings

also

show

edthat

the

patient

rolemustbe

considered

whendeveloping

aninterprofessionallearning

prog

ram

andcare

3Theauthorsem

phasizethe

impo

rtance

ofstud

ents

meetin

gthepatientswhich

helped

motivatethem

for

interprofessionalcollabo

ratio

ns

Headet

al(2016)

4Prendashpo

stmixed-m

etho

devaluatio

nof

aun

iversityrsquos

effortsto

design

andimplem

ent

aninterdisciplinarycurriculum

(iCORE)toteachpalliativecare

inon

cology

5Thecurriculum

includ

eson

line

case-based

didacticsan

InterdisciplinaryCase

Managem

entExperience(IC

ME)

clinicalrotatio

nsand

critical

reflectionactivities

6Ch

aplaincy

7BSNlevel

8Medicine(fo

urth

year)

9MSW

level

103

73stud

ents

completed

prendashpo

sttest

over

five

semesters

11C

onfid

ence

with

interprofessionale

ducatio

n12P

alliativecare

know

ledg

eandskills

13End

-of-Life

Profession

alCaregiverSurvey

14Self-Efficacyfor

Interprofessional

ExperientialLearning

Scale

15Interdisciplinary

16P

alliativeCare

Know

ledg

eSurvey

17Focus

grou

ps

18Studentsfrom

alld

isciplines

show

edsign

ificant

improvem

entson

quantitative

measureschaplaincy

stud

ents

didno

treachsign

ificanceon

somescales

19O

pen-endedrespon

ses

indicatedthat

ICMEand

rotatio

nswerethemost

enjoyableaspectsof

the

interventio

n20A

utho

rsconcludedthat

the

curriculum

was

successful

inteaching

skillsandknow

ledg

eandaffectingattitud

esand

abilitiesof

stud

entsto

provide

team

-based

oncology

care

21R

ecom

mendcontinuing

similarprog

ramsin

health

sciences

toprovidehand

s-on

interdisciplinarylearning

oppo

rtun

ities

(Continued)

10 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Contie

tal(2016)

22P

ost-experiencesurvey

and

open-end

edqu

estio

ns

23Interdisciplinaryteam

sassign

edto

olderadultsin

the

commun

ity

24Studentsmade293visits

total

to208olderadultparticipants

25M

edicine(303)

26P

harm

acy(177)

27B

SNlevel(84)

28O

ccup

ationalTherapy

(64)

29B

SWlevel(101)

30M

SWlevel(132)

318

61stud

ents

over

over

semesters

32Team

functio

n33V

aluing

homevisits

34U

nderstanding

olderadults

35V

aluing

IPEexperience

36Learningfrom

Interprofessional

EducationalE

xperiences

Survey

with

open-text

questio

ncompo

nent

37Surveyresults

show

edstud

entsheld

strong

positive

attitud

estowardagingand

olderadultsandtowardteam

-basedcollabo

ratio

ns

38P

articipants

also

repo

rted

learning

abou

ttherolesand

respon

sibilitiesof

other

profession

sandratedthe

experiencehigh

ly8

2stated

they

wou

ldwelcomemoreIPE

oppo

rtun

ities

ForrestandDerrick

(2010)

1Descriptiveevaluatio

nstud

yof

theInterdisciplinaryEducational

Specializationin

End-of-life

Care

prog

ramw

hich

was

design

edbasedon

aneedsassessment

describ

edelsewhere

39M

SWlevel

40B

SNlevel

41C

lergystud

ents

421

3stud

entprendash

post

evaluatio

nsanalyzed

4330competenciesrelatedto

know

ledg

eskillsand

profession

alidentity

44C

ontent

areas

commun

ication

advance

care

planning

futile

treatm

entsIPP

45P

re-andpo

sttest

survey

ofstud

entcompetency

self-assessmentand

focusgrou

ps

46N

oform

ative

assessments

used

47P

rogram

participants

repo

rted

that

theexperiencehelped

them

confirm

adesire

towork

inendof

life(EOL)

orgeneratedtheirdesire

todo

so

48A

llrespon

dentsindicated

that

theprog

ram

increased

theirknow

ledg

eof

interdisciplinaryworkin

EOL

49Follow-updata

show

that

over

70

ofprog

ram

participants

goon

toworkdirectlyin

EOL

care

Chan

etal(2009)

50M

ixed

metho

devaluatio

nof

interprofessionalsem

inarsfor

undergradu

atenu

rsingand

social

workstud

ents

aimed

atdeveloping

theircarin

gdisposition

s51The

interdisciplinaryseminars

discussedcase

scenariosrelated

toelderabusewhich

allowed

forstud

entsto

learnabou

ton

eanotherrsquos

carin

gperspectives

with

inthecontextof

decision

making

52B

SNlevel(16)

53B

SWlevel(16)

54Totalof

32stud

ents

over

twoseminarsaweek

aparteach

55Studentrsquosview

sabou

tthe

teaching

approachethical

decision

-makingand

carin

geach

otherrsquos

roles

commun

ication

values

and

beliefsrelatedto

decision

making

56D

atacollected

via

videotaped

recordings

Likertscale

questio

nnaireand

follow-upteleph

one

interviews

57D

atewereanalyzed

throug

hdescrip

tive

statisticsandcontent

analysis

58Themes

andsubthemes

includ

edan

increasedself-

awarenessof

their

profession

alvaluesenh

anced

understand

ingof

carin

gimproved

commun

icationand

open-m

indedn

essand

buildingtrustin

grelatio

nships

59A

utho

rsconcludedthat

seminarsarean

effective

medium

throug

hwhich

interdisciplinaryeducationon

nursingandsocialworkcan

bedelivered

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 11

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

BonifasandGray

(2013)

60P

rendashp

osttestqu

asi-

experim

entald

esignexam

ining

twocurriculaaimingto

prepare

social

workstud

ents

for

collabo

ratio

nin

geriatriccare

61O

necurriculum

used

aninterprofessionala

pproach

the

otheraun

i-professional

approach

62The

othercurriculum

discussed

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsin

asocialworkcourse

63M

SWlevel

64M

edicine

65N

utrition

66P

harm

acy

67N

ursing

68A

utho

rson

lystated

the

prog

ram

levels(M

SW)for

thesocialworkprofession

696

9stud

ents

inthe

interprofessional

curriculum

19in

theun

i-profession

alon

e

70C

hang

esin

social

work

stud

entsrsquoattitu

desand

values

towardIDT

71U

nderstanding

ofrolesand

training

requ

irements

ofmultid

isciplinarypartners

72P

rendashpo

sttest

using

adaptedversionof

the

Attitud

esTowardHealth

Care

Team

sScale

731

0multip

lechoice

questio

nsdevelopedby

theteam

used

toassess

understand

ingof

profession

alrolesand

training

ofIDT

mem

bers

74Studentsin

the

interdisciplinarycurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

attitud

esandvalues

toward

interdisciplinarycollabo

ratio

nsbu

tdidno

tshow

asmuch

improvem

entin

their

understand

ingof

each

profession

rsquosroles

75Studentsin

theun

i-profession

alcurriculum

sign

ificantlyimproved

their

understand

ingof

otherteam

mem

bersrsquoroles

butdidno

tchange

theirattitud

esand

values

towardcollabo

ratio

n76A

utho

rsconcludedthat

interprofessionale

ducatio

nis

thebetter

approach

toob

tain

change

instud

entsrsquoattitu

des

abou

tinterdisciplinaryteam

sSheppard

etal

(2015)

77M

ixed-m

etho

dstud

yevaluatin

gtheeffectsof

aninterprofessionalclinical

experience(IC

E)on

attitud

estowardolderadultsand

interprofessionale

ducatio

n78ICE

prog

ram

was

developed

basedon

IPEC

core

competenciesandfocusedon

interprofessionalp

racticein

nursingho

mes

79M

edicine

80D

entistry

81N

ursing

82N

utrition

83O

T84O

ptom

etry

85Socialw

ork

861

71stud

entrespon

ses

87A

utho

rsdidno

tstate

stud

entsrsquop

rogram

level

88A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessionalteams

89A

ttitu

destowardolder

adults

90Q

uantitativepre-and

posttestsdata

collected

usingtheUCLAGeriatric

Attitud

esScalefocus

grou

psanalyzed

using

anindu

ctivethem

atic

approach

91N

osign

ificant

changesin

attitud

eswerefoun

dexcept

forthestatem

entldquoM

ostold

peop

learepleasant

tobe

with

rdquowhich

improved

from

274

to44

ofstud

ents

strong

lyagreeing

from

pre-

topo

st-IC

E92G

enerallystudentsrepo

rted

positiveattitud

estoward

interprofessionalteamwork

andolderadults

93The

authorsconclude

that

the

briefinterprofessional

curriculum

offersthepo

tential

tobe

appliedsuccessfully

(Continued)

12 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Park

etal(2014)

94P

rendashp

osttestinterventio

nstud

ytestingtheeffectsof

IPE

prog

ram

95Intervention

(1)IPE

developm

entsession

and(2)

theSenior

AgingandGeriatrics

Educator

mentorin

gprog

ram

96M

edicine(firstyear)(52)

97B

SN-leveln

ursing

(49)

98M

SW(firstyear)-55

99A

ttitu

destoward

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

ns(physicianndash

socialworkerph

ysicianndash

nursenu

rsendashsocial

worker)

100

Prendashpo

stdata

collected

usingthe

originalandmod

ified

versions

ofthe

Jeffe

rson

Scho

olof

Attitud

esToward

Physician-Nurse

Collabo

ratio

n

101

Socialworkstud

ents

and

nursingstud

ents

repo

rted

theleastpo

sitiveattitud

estowardtheph

ysicianndash

social

workerph

ysicianndash

nurse

collabo

ratio

nsrespectively

102

Medicalstud

ents

improved

theirattitud

estowardall

threecollabo

ratio

nsto

agreaterdegree

than

the

otherstud

entsw

hich

isinconsistent

with

previous

finding

s103

Authorsrecommendthat

thecurriculum

beevaluated

andassessed

forintegrity

andthat

postgraduate

follow-upmeasuresbe

incorporated

toassess

long

-term

change

Heuer

etal(2010)

1Sm

allsurveyexplorationof

the

effectsof

a60-m

inute

interdisciplinarycase-simulation

sessionon

medicalstud

entsrsquo

awarenessof

otherprofession

srsquoscop

eof

practiceand

commun

icationskills

104

116stud

ents

from

medicine

105

Faculty

from

medical

imaging

nutrition

labo

ratory

techno

logy

nursing

physical

therapy(PT)p

hysician

assistant(PA)

respiratory

therapyand

socialwork

106

Awarenessof

other

profession

srsquoscop

eof

practice

107

Appreciatio

nforIDTand

commun

ication

108

Stud

entsrsquoexperiencewith

theinterventio

n

109

12-item

survey

used

tocollect

participant

feedback

aswellas

open-end

edqu

alitativequ

estio

nsregardingthe

initiative

110

Participants

repo

rted

that

thesessionwas

ago

odmeans

toachievethego

als

setou

t111

Survey

results

indicatedthat

medicalstud

entsrsquoawareness

andappreciatio

nof

other

health

profession

sincreased

andwas

overallp

ositive

112

Authorsconclude

that

future

sessions

shou

ldbe

adjusted

basedon

stud

entfeedback

andthat

thesessions

are

achalleng

ingyetvaluable

educationalu

ndertaking

(Continued)

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 13

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table2

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sand

recommendatio

ns

Murph

yand

Nimmagadda

(2015)

113

Prendashpo

stqu

asi-experimental

survey

design

evaluatin

gthe

effectivenessof

aneducationalsimulationfor

nursingandSW

stud

ents

114

Purposivesampleof

43nu

rsingand45

social

workstud

ents

115

Team

workand

collabo

ratio

n116

Patient

centeredness

117

Senseof

profession

alidentity

118

Prendash

posttest

using

theReadinessfor

Interprofessional

Learning

Scale

119

Uncertainty

abou

tinterprofessionalroles

decreasedby

morethan

two

third

sin

both

grou

ps

120

Both

nursingandSW

stud

ents

identifiednew

streng

thssuch

asreflective

listening

andop

en-

mindedn

essfortheSW

role

onpo

sttest

Heflin

etal(2014)

121

Pre-licensure

course

providing

interactiveteaching

sessions

tostud

ents

from

vario

ushealth

care

profession

s122

Theeducationalcom

ponent

focuseson

enhancing

transitio

nsof

care

forolder

adults

byimproving

interprofessionalp

ractices

123

Medicine

124

Pharmacy

125

PhysicalTherapy

126

PhysicianAssistants

127

Nutrition

128

Socialworkfaculty

129

18completed

the

evaluatio

nover

two

semesters

130

Course

topics

delineated

inthesyllabu

sinclud

edescrib

ingIDTmem

ber

rolesinterprofessional

commun

ication

andcare

planning

131

Learning

outcom

es

know

ledg

eandskillsin

clinicalcare

andin

quality

improvem

ent

andcommun

icationand

collabo

ratio

n

132

In-class

andon

line

participation

performance

onassign

mentsand

team

-based

prop

osals

used

toassess

stud

ents

133

Stud

entself-efficacy

measuredat

pre-

and

post-cou

rse

completion

134

Stud

entsrsquoself-efficacyratin

gssign

ificantlyimproved

inteam

workskillstransitio

nsof

careq

uality

improvem

entandcultu

ral

competence

135

Stud

entsrsquocou

rseevaluatio

nfeedback

indicatedthat

they

appreciatedtheinteractive

experienceandgettingto

engage

inrelevant

workas

wellastheenthusiasm

ofthecourse

faculty

14 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

satisfaction and educational efforts Dorfman et al (2008) implemented a supplementary ldquoGeroRichrdquoSocial Work education program In this program community collaborations were the interventionaimed to strengthen the aging-focused learning opportunities This study of advisory board membersand social work faculty members found that programs utilizing community collaborations improvedgerontological social work education and that this type of community partnership could benefitnursing programs as well (Dorfman et al 2008)

Across these studies students reported having positive experiences participating in both therequired and supplemental educational efforts (Addy Browne Blake amp Bailey 2015 GoldenGammonley Hunt Olsen amp Barry Issenberg 2014) These educational opportunities were foundto be enjoyable for students and highlighted important features of each respective discipline (Addyet al 2015 Golden et al 2014) Additionally students perceived that they had gained an under-standing of key health concepts following this collaboration (Addy et al 2015) Finally a state-of-the-science by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) found that shared learning between social work and nursingprograms may lend toward competency-based education however competence must be defined andassessed in an ongoing basis within schools of social work and schools of nursing

In conclusion the articles with a focus on student and faculty experiences described in this themereport that the broad scope of educational efforts between nursing social work and allied health careprofessions widens the understanding of students which promotes teamwork and comprehension ofcare best practices across disciplines Table 3 includes details of each study including the methodsparticipants data collection and key findings and recommendations

Critique of the literature

There are limitations to the articles included within this study that should be noted First there wasa lack of theoretical frameworks providing guidelines and boundaries for the programs used acrossall articles but one (Rowan et al 2009) The use of theoretical frameworks may challenge and extendexisting knowledge strengthening the work within the limits of each study conducted respectivelyFor example authors may have used the IPEC competencies to frame their program goals ordiscussed how their learning objectives align with the competencies that IPEC recommends forIPE and practice Second 7 of the 24 articles were review articles and lacked a procedure forconducting the study either as a mixed-methodological qualitative or quantitative study designThe lack of details makes it difficult for the reader to assess the comprehensiveness of the review andthe accuracy of the conclusions drawn Third all studies used purposive non-probability samplingtechniques Based on researchers selecting study participants or students self-selecting findingsfrom these studies may not be generalizable to students or universities across the nation Last manystudies reported findings based on self-reported subjective assessments (eg Forrest amp Derrick2010) The lack of rigorous summative assessments makes it difficult to assess actual changes inknowledge skills and attitudes resulting from the intervention

Discussion and implications

This systematic review provides a comprehensive summary of the literature published on inter-professional education initiatives that have been developed and implemented in an effort to bestprepare nursing and social work students for interprofessional gerontological practice (ie programdescriptions evaluation of programs and student and faculty responses) A total of 24 articles werereviewed These publications highlight the potential of IPE efforts to prepare students for geronto-logical practice and interdisciplinary teamwork as well as student and faculty receptiveness to suchefforts The small number of publications also highlights the particular need for increased actionaround IPE in gerontological social work education and for IPE programs to be evaluated andfindings disseminated to the research community The few initiatives identified in this review of theliterature represent programsrsquo attempts to fill educational gaps within their curricula There is a need

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 15

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

Stud

entandFaculty

Experiences

(n=5)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Brooks

etal(2009)

1Au

thorsaddressthebestpractices

forteaching

thecourse

titledAg

ing

toInfancyacross

universitiesfrom

four

states

2Thisarticle

presents

areview

ofthe

numberof

gerontolog

y-focused

coursesacross

universitiesin

these

states

1Ag

ingcurriculum

across

IndianaIllinois

Michigan

andOhio

2Thecourse

isaprerequisite

for

admission

tonu

rsing

occupatio

naltherapy

social

workand

dieteticsprog

rams

1Co

nceptualizationof

the

health

care

team

2Positiveintrod

uctio

nto

aging

3Redu

ctionin

agism

1Co

urse

midterm

sfin

als

andassign

ments

2Co

urse

review

s

1Manydisciplinesincluding

nursing

dieteticssocialworkand

occupatio

naltherapyreportsimilar

challeng

eswith

integrating

gerontolog

ical

contentinto

their

curriculum

2

Stud

ents

repo

rtthat

having

four

instructorsfrom

diffe

rent

health

profession

sgave

abroadversionof

allaspects

Dam

ron-Rodriguez

(2008)

Thisarticle

presentsastateof

the

sciencecapturingfin

ding

sfrom

previous

educationalapp

roachesto

preparingnu

rses

andsocialworkersfor

supp

ortin

gfamily

caregivers

3Nursing

4Social

Work(SW)

5Medicine

6CSWEandHartford

Geriatriccompetencies

that

specifically

mentio

nfamilysuchas

diversity

commun

ication

and

assessment

7Review

oftheliterature

from

thepast

decade

(1998ndash2008)

8Itwas

foun

dthat

competencein

geriatricsiscentraltointerdisciplinary

team

workShared

learning

may

behelpfulacrossdisciplines

9Recommendthat

afram

eworkfor

educatingandtraining

nurses

and

social

workerscontainfour

central

elem

entsw

hatho

ww

here

and

when

andho

wwell

Dorfm

anet

al(2008)

10M

ixed-m

etho

dsstud

yanalyzed

data

from

advisory

boardmem

bers

11A

dvisorybo

ardgu

idingcurriculum

includ

edsocial

workfaculty

commun

itypartnerso

lder

adults

PhDstud

entsand

agraduate

and

anun

dergradu

aterepresentative

129

faculty

questio

nnaires

respon

ses

131

1advisory

board

respon

ses

14Sup

portandsatisfaction

with

project

15Sug

gestions

regarding

sustainabilityandfuture

implem

entatio

n

16Q

uestionn

aire

adapted

from

theGeroRich

Project

17B

othgrou

psagreed

that

the

ldquoGeroRichrdquo

projectto

provideBSW

stud

ents

with

gero-education

coursesispo

sitiveforSW

curriculum

18A

utho

rsencouragethereplicationof

theprog

ram

with

nursingandother

alliedhealth

care

profession

als

Addy

etal(2015)

19Thisarticle

shares

mod

ificatio

nsmadeto

aninterdisciplinarycourse

andevaluatedchangesin

end-of-

course

evaluatio

nsfrom

stud

ents

from

year

2013

to2014

ofimplem

entatio

n

20M

edicine

21N

ursing

22P

harm

acy

23P

ublic

Health

24SocialW

ork

25P

rogram

levelvaried

262

013coho

rt(256)

272

014coho

rt(394)

28V

aluesethics

29R

olesrespo

nsibilities

30C

ommun

icationand

team

steam

work

31O

nlineend-of-cou

rse

evaluatio

n32Student

reflections

abou

tthecourse

33Studentsshared

they

enjoyedbeing

with

health

care

stud

entsacross

disciplines

34Studentsrsquoratin

gof

allcou

rse

itemssign

ificantlyimproved

from

2013

to2014

(Continued)

16 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Table3

(Con

tinued)

Outcomes

Authors(year)

Metho

dsProfession

s(sam

ple)

Content

Form

atKeyfin

ding

sandrecommendatio

ns

Goldenet

al(2014)

1Cross-sectionalsurveyof

stud

ent

grou

psrsquovaluesregardingolder

adults

2Thepu

rposeof

thisstud

ywas

todrivethedevelopm

entof

ageriatric-focused

interprofessional

collabo

ratio

n

35M

edicine(third

year)

(31)

36N

urse

practitioners

(NP)

(70)

37M

SWlevelsocial

work(131)

38A

ttitu

destoward

carin

gforolderadults

39A

ttitu

destoward

person

alaging

40A

ttitu

desabou

thealth

reform

legislation

41B

eliefsabou

tleadership

inIDT

42P

aper

andpencil

surveys

43G

eriatricsAttitud

eScale(GAS

)44R

eactions

toAg

ing

Questionn

aire

(RAQ

)45P

atient

Protectio

nand

Affordable

Care

Act

(PPA

CA)assessment

46R

esultsshow

that

theprofession

shared

similarattitud

estoward

person

alaging

andNPandSW

stud

ents

hadmorepo

sitive

attitud

esrelatedto

carin

gforolder

adultsthan

medicalstud

ents

Overallallscoreswerewith

inthe

neutralrange

ofattitud

e47V

arieddiffe

rences

wereidentifiedin

attitud

estowardleadership

andthe

effect

ofhealth

care

reform

48A

utho

rsem

phasizetheneed

forIPE

tohigh

light

thevaluesystem

sof

each

profession

involved

incare

team

s

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 17

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

to expand the depth and breadth of these efforts including access to programs duration ofprograms and gerontological topics of focus What follows is a discussion of recommendationsfor future research and education These recommendations come from the literature discussed aswell as the authorsrsquo additional recommendations

Social work educators and researchers have made significant efforts to develop and deliver IPE tostudents interested in aging practice but more is needed A major limitation in the current literaturestems from the lack of rigorous research methods employed in the design and evaluation of theeducational interventions (eg Dorfman et al 2008 Ellman et al 2012 Hermann et al 2016)Future educational initiatives should be developed based on explicitly stated IPEC competencies andevaluated for effectiveness using more rigorous methods One way to achieve this may be throughthe use of validated and reliable assessment tools such as the IPEC Competency Self-Assessmenttool derived from IPEC competencies Developed by Dow DiazGranados Mazmanian and Retchin(2014) the tool measures students on 42 core competencies across two domains interprofessionalinteractions and interprofessional values

Even though differences in professional mandates add complexity to decisions about whichcompetencies to measure (Hermann et al 2016) several disciplines have made efforts to establishassessment measures based on interprofessional collaborative efforts (eg Lockeman et al 2016)Social work gerontology educators should take advantage of these developments by using themwithin and across departments at the university level In addition social workers with theircommitment to a biopsychosocial approach are well-positioned to initiate and steer collaborativeefforts related to the development of such measures Further efforts have been made to identifycompetencies relevant to both nursing and social work to develop a framework for education Thiswas done for example by Damron-Rodriguez (2008) with a focus on preparing nurses and socialworkers to support older adult family caregivers Future research should be conducted to identifycompetencies most important to interprofessional gerontological health care practice relevant acrossmultiple disciplines and settings and how to measure them

Social desirability bias is another concern across the articles included within this study Kolomeret al (2010) discussed the risk for socially desirable responses associated with having the IPEinitiatives be part of a graded course This risk is magnified by the use of subjective measuressuch as self-assessments and untested instruments (eg Hermann et al 2016) To minimize thisrisk objective measures using standardized instruments should be employed whenever possibleA standardized instrument recommended for future use in some of the articles reviewed is theGeriatric Social Work Competency Scale II (eg Brooks et al 2009 Damron-Rodriguez 2008)Head et al (2016) recommended that future research measure the long-term effect of the IPEinterventions

In addition to standardized instruments studies should implement rigorous sampling andrandomization techniques Golden et al (2014) recommend that future studies use larger samplesizes to improve their statistical power Although engaging in unbiased sampling recruitment andretention of students across professions can be logistically challenging (Mirick Davis ampWladkowski 2017 Rubin amp Babbie 2011) these investments will help to better assess outcomesand refine educational initiatives moving the field forward It is also important to emphasize thatalthough randomization is difficult given that IPE programs are often delivered as part of a semestercourse efforts should be made to incorporate a control group For example if the IPE is delivered asan aging course elective another section of the aging course where IPE is not delivered can be usedas a control group Internal validity would be limited but it would be a step forward from the non-experimental designs currently employed

Opportunities also exist for improving the implementation of IPE programs particularly whenprograms include field placements clinical rotations or partnerships with community agenciesSeveral of the articles included in this review recommend that programs continue to prioritize face-to-face small-group educational opportunities to connect health profession students and promoteinteractions among disciplines as it has been found to be an integral component of their IPE

18 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

programming (eg Dorfman et al 2008) This recommendation is well-aligned with CAIPErsquosdefinition of IPE (Buring et al 2009) Kolomer et al (2010) and Poole et al (2013) also emphasizethe importance of developing or strengthening community partnerships It is important that whenIPE initiatives are implemented in the community special attention is paid to the sustainability andcontinuity of the resources and supports that the students and programs represent Includingfeedback from community members receiving care can be a constructive approach to assessingstudent learning and an effective component of the evaluation of IPE Simultaneously such feedbackcan help providers learn about the experiences of community members and effect of the programSoliciting feedback from community members as Rowan et al (2009) did in their program can alsohelp strengthen academicndashcommunity partnerships and support programmatic improvementsCommunity members may also be engaged in discussions about their needs and ways in whichacademicndashcommunity partners can remain involved between rounds of implementation which iscrucial to the quality and effect of the program on the community and on older adults

Finally future initiatives must consider the varying skills and knowledge that students from multipledisciplines possess and how to build curricula that supports all of their needs For example some of theprograms included in this review involved both BSW and MSW students and it is unclear whether lackof preparedness of BSW students to engage in some higher-level IPE activities emerged as a concern Thebenefits and limitations of combining BSW and MSW students in IPE experiences involving graduatestudents from other health professions merits further investigation Moreover nursing students witha strong scientific foundation and understanding of the biological and physiological components of agingmay lack understanding of the holistic socioeconomic psychosocial and behavioral aspects of agingwhich influence the health care decision-making process and are crucial in social work practice As suchnursing students ought to be engaged in coursework and curricula that addresses social influencespursues social change and maximizes the quality of life for older adults

Programs need to develop the infrastructure required to support interprofessional collaborations inresearch projects as well as in classrooms across levels of higher education so that social work facultyrsquosown practices mirror the interprofessional values they hope to impart onto students Jones and Phillips(2016) discussed the competencies of IPE as detailed by IPEC and provided a similar recommendationfor ldquodual and reciprocal appointments of faculty in schools of social work medicine public healthnursing and so forth hellip [and for] co-taught courses that bring together multiple faculty and studentsfrom a variety of disciplinesrdquo (p 26) Social work and nursing programs should build capacity forinterprofessional practice research and education This will require that leaders from various programscome together and discuss their accreditation mandates and work together to support the developmentof collaborations For example CSWE EPAS (2015) requires that social work faculty have 2 years of post-masterrsquos social work degree practice experience and other programs may have similar requirements thatwill dictate how to develop coteaching initiatives The need for program and profession leaders to cometogether has been previously expressed and can be found in the IPE literature (Clark 2011 Hall ampZierler 2015 Jensen Harvan amp Royeen 2009)

Conclusion

This is the first systematic review to examine interprofessional gerontological education program-ming within social work and nursing programs in the United States that can be located Findingsfrom this study highlight the current programs engaging in IPE to prepare gerontological andhealth care social workers as well as the effectiveness of such programming Overall thisliterature points to IPE educational initiatives as valuable and effective at increasing the self-awareness attitudes and skills of social work and nursing students engaged in gerontologicalpractice Moving forward the study of such initiatives should explore the benefits of IPE on long-term outcomes such as increased enrollment in further gerontology-specific studies (eg BSWstudents entering MSW aging concentrations) and on studentsrsquo readiness to practice with theolder adult population Ongoing examinations of the effect IPE initiatives have on the well-being

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 19

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

of older adults is also an area requiring continued research These interprofessional programsmay arm up-and-coming professionals with the skills and knowledge required to competentlycare for the growing population of aging Americans and for practicing within the health caresystem As such it is of paramount importance that social work programs infuse interprofessionaleducation into their programming and curricula and support faculty in their efforts to collabo-rate across departmental silos

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes on contributors

Susanny J Beltran PhD MSW is assistant professor with the School of Social Work University of Central FloridaVivian J Miller PhD LMSW is assistant professor with the Department of Human Services Bowling Green StateUniversity

References

Asterisks indicate the 24 studies included in the systematic reviewDaggers indicate the 83 excluded on full reviewAddy C L Browne T Blake E W amp Bailey J (2015) Enhancing interprofessional education Integrating public

health and social work perspectives American Journal of Public Health 105(S1) S106ndashS108 doi102105AJPH2014302502

Aiguier G Oboeuf A Cobbaut J P amp Vanpee D (2015) Activity confrontation methods A reflexive andmetacognitive approach for interprofessional collaboration training Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5)457ndash463 doi1031091356182020151004162

American Academy of Social Work amp Social Welfare (AASWSW) (2017) Close the health gap Retrieved from httpaaswsworggrand-challenges-initiative12-challengesclose-the-health-gap

Anderson M B amp Kanter S L (2010) Medical education in the united states and Canada 2010 Academic Medicine85(9) S2ndashS18

Angelini D J (2011) Interdisciplinary and interprofessional education What are the key issues and considerationsfor the future The Journal of Perinatal amp Neonatal Nursing 25(2) 175ndash179

daggerBalen R Rhodes C amp Ward L (2010) The power of stories Using narrative for interdisciplinary learning in healthand social care Social Work Education 29(4) 416ndash426 doi10108002615470902991742

daggerBekkema N de Veer A J Albers G Hertogh C M Onwuteaka-Philipsen B D amp Francke A L (2014)Training needs of nurses and social workers in the end-of-life care for people with intellectual disabilities a nationalsurvey Nurse Education Today 34(4) 494ndash500 doi101016jnedt201307018

daggerBellamy J L Mullen E J Satterfield J M Newhouse R P Ferguson M Brownson R C amp Spring B (2013)Implementing evidence-based practice education in social work A transdisciplinary approach Research on SocialWork Practice 23(4) 426ndash436 doi1011771049731513480528

daggerBennett E Hauck Y Radford G amp Bindahneem S (2016) An interprofessional exploration of nursing and socialwork roles when working jointly with families Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(2) 232ndash237 doi1031091356182020151115755

daggerBlacker S Head B A Jones B L Remke S S amp Supiano K (2016) Advancing hospice and palliative care socialwork leadership in interprofessional education and practice Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 12(4) 316ndash330 doi1010801552425620161247771

Bonifas R P amp Gray A K (2013) Preparing social work students for interprofessional practice in geriatric healthcare Insights from two approaches Educational Gerontology 39(7) 476ndash490 doi101111ajag12106

daggerBoston G Croft B Mallikaaratchi W Mudd D Olsen A amp Toms-Ashcroft J (2010) NMC must sanction jointnursing and social work courses Learning Disability Practice (through 2013) 13(10) 6 doi107748ldp13106s11

daggerBronstein L R Anderson E Terwilliger S H amp Sager K (2012) Evaluating a model of school-based health andsocial services An interdisciplinary communityndashuniversity collaboration Children amp Schools 34(3) 155ndash165doi101093cscds004

Brooks J Fox D P amp Okagbue-Reaves J (2009) Best practices for an interdisciplinary team-taught courseEducational Gerontology 35 818ndash830 doi10108003601270902821350

Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor (2017) Healthcare Social Workers Occupational EmploymentStatistics 2017 Edition Retrieved from httpswwwblsgovoes2017mayoes211022htm

20 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

daggerBurrow S Mairs H Pusey H Bradshaw T amp Keady J (2016) Continuing professional education Motivationsand experiences of health and social care professionalrsquos part-time study in higher education A qualitative literaturereview International Journal of Nursing Studies 63 139ndash145 doi101016jijnurstu201608011

Buring S M Bhushan A Broeseker A Conway S Duncan-Hewitt W Hansen L amp Westberg S (2009)Interprofessional education definitions student competencies and guidelines for implementation AmericanJournal of Pharmaceutical Education 73(4) 59 doi105688aj730459

daggerChan E A Lam W amp Yeung S K S L (2013) Interprofessional competence A qualitative exploration of socialwork and nursing studentsrsquo experience Journal of Nursing Education 52(9) 509ndash515 doi10392801484834-20130823-01

Chan E A Mok E Po-ying A H amp Man-chun J H (2009) The use of interdisciplinary seminars for thedevelopment of caring dispositions in nursing and social work students Journal of Advanced Nursing 65(12)2658ndash2667 doi101111j1365-2648200905121x

Chan E A Chi S P M Ching S amp Lam S K (2010) Interprofessional education The interface of nursing andsocial work Journal of Clinical Nursing 19(12) 168ndash176

daggerChicorelli J Dennie A Heinrich C Hinchey B Honarparvar F Jennings M hellip Tempelman J (2016)Canadian student leadersrsquo perspective on interprofessional education A consensus statement Journal ofInterprofessional Care 30(4) 545ndash547 doi1031091356182020161159187

daggerChodosh J Price R M Cadogan M P Damron-Rodriguez J Osterweil D Czerwinski A hellip Frank J C(2015) A practice improvement education program using a mentored approach to improve nursing facilitydepression caremdashpreliminary data Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 63(11) 2395ndash2399 doi101111jgs13775

Christensen K Doblhammer G Rau R amp Vaupel J W (2009) Ageing populations the challenges ahead TheLancet 374(9696) 1196ndash1208 doi101016S0140-6736(09)61460-4

daggerClark K Congdon H B Macmillan K Gonzales J P amp Guerra A (2015) Changes in perceptions and attitudesof healthcare profession students pre and post academic course experience of team-basedrsquocare for the critically IllrsquoJournal of Professional Nursing 31(4) 330ndash339 doi101016jprofnurs201501006

Clark P G (2011) The devil is in the details The seven deadly sins of organizing and continuing interprofessionaleducation in the US Journal of Interprofessional Care 25(5) 321ndash327 doi103109135618202011578223

daggerClarke B A Miers M E Pollard K C amp Thomas J (2007) Complexities of learning together Studentsrsquoexperience of face-to-face interprofessional groups Learning in Health and Social Care 6(4) 202ndash212doi101111j1473-6861200700162x

daggerCohen E V Hagestuen R Gonzaacutelez-Ramos G Cohen H W Bassich C Book E hellip Giroux M (2016)Interprofessional education increases knowledge promotes team building and changes practice in the care ofParkinsonrsquos disease Parkinsonism amp Related Disorders 22 21ndash27 doi101016jparkreldis201511001

Colby S L amp Ortman J M (2014) Projections of the size and composition of the US population 2014 to 2060Current population reports P25-1143 Washington DC US Census Bureau

Conti G Bowers C OrsquoConnell M B Bruer S Bugdalski-Stutrud C Smith G hellip Mendez J (2016) Examiningthe effects of an experiential interprofessional education activity with older adults Journal of Interprofessional Care30(2) 184ndash190 doi1031091356182020151092428

daggerCopperman J amp Newton P D (2007) Linking social work agency perspectives on interprofessional education intoa school of nursing and midwifery Journal of Interprofessional Care 21(2) 141ndash154 doi10108013561820701197522

Council on Education for Public Health (2011) Accreditation criteria public health programs Retrieved from httpwwwcephorgpdfPHP-Criteria-2011pdf

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) (2015) Educational policy and accreditation standards Retrieved fromhttpswwwcsweorggetattachmentAccreditationAccreditation-Process2015-EPAS2015EPAS_Web_FINALpdfaspx

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) (2017) Specialized practice curricular guide for gero social work practiceAlexandria VA Council on Social Work Education

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) (nd) About the gero-ed center Retrieved from httpswwwcsweorgCenters-InitiativesCentersGero-Ed-CenterAbout

daggerCurran V R Sharpe D Flynn K amp Button P (2010) A longitudinal study of the effect of an interprofessionaleducation curriculum on student satisfaction and attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and educationJournal of Interprofessional Care 24(1) 41ndash52 doi10310913561820903011927

Dall T M Gallo P D Chakrabarti R West T Semilla A P amp Storm M V (2013) An aging population andgrowing disease burden will require a large and specialized health care workforce by 2025 Health Affairs 32(11)2013ndash2020 doi101377hlthaff20130714

Damron-Rodriguez J (2008) Developing competence for nurses and social workers The American Journal ofNursing 108 40ndash46 doi10109701NAJ000033641383366e0

daggerDay M R Bantry-White E amp Glavin P (2010) Professional Protection of vulnerable adults an interdisciplinaryworkshop Community Practitioner 83(9) 29ndash32

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 21

De Los Santos M McFarlin C D amp Martin L (2014) Interprofessional education and service learning A modelfor the future of health professions education Journal of Interprofessional Care 28(4) 374ndash375 doi103109135618202014889102

daggerDerbyshire J A amp Machin A I (2011) Learning to work collaboratively nursesrsquo views of their pre-registrationinterprofessional education and its impact on practice Nurse Education in Practice 11(4) 239ndash244 doi101016jnepr201011010

Dorfman L T Murty S A Ingram J G amp Li H (2008) Faculty and community partners in gerontologicalcurriculum enrichment Educational Gerontology 12 1087ndash1104 doi10108003601270802201398

Dow A A DiazGranados D Mazmanian P E amp Retchin S M (2014) An exploratory study of an assessment toolderived from the competencies of the interprofessional education collaborative Journal of Interprofessional Care28 299ndash304 doi103109135618202014891573

daggerDutton A J amp Worsley A R (2009) Doves and hawks Practice educatorsrsquo attitudes towards interprofessionallearning Learning in Health and Social Care 8(3) 145ndash153 doi101111j1473-6861200800204x

daggerEckstrom E Neal M B Cotrell V Casey C M McKenzie G Morgove M W hellip Lasater K (2016) Aninterprofessional approach to reducing the risk of falls through enhanced collaborative practice Journal of theAmerican Geriatrics Society 64(8) 1701ndash1707 doi101111jgs14178

Ellman M S Schulman-Green D Blatt L Asher S Viveiros D Clark J amp Bia M (2012) Using online learningand interactive simulation to teach spiritual and cultural aspects of palliative care to interprofessional studentsJournal of Palliative Medicine 15(11) 1240ndash1247 doi101089jpm20120038

daggerFilies G C Yassin Z amp Frantz J M (2016) Studentsrsquo views of learning about an interprofessional world cafeacutemethod African Journal of Health Professions Education 8(2) 229ndash233 doi107196AJHPE2016v8i2844

Forrest C amp Derrick C (2010) Interdisciplinary education in end-of-life care Creating new opportunities for socialwork nursing and clinical pastoral education students Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp Palliative Care 6(1ndash2) 91ndash116 doi101080155242562010489224

daggerGalambos C (2008) From the editor the joint social worknursing caregiver initiative Opportunities for social workeducation Journal of Social Work Education 44(sup3) 1ndash4 doi105175JSWE2008773247701

Golden A G Gammonley D Hunt D Olsen E amp Barry Issenberg S (2014) The attitudes of graduate healthcarestudents toward older adults personal aging health care reform and interprofessional collaboration Journal ofInterprofessional Care 28(1) 40ndash44 doi103109135618202013830595

Gould P R Lee Y Berkowitz S amp Bronstein L (2015) Impact of a collaborative interprofessional learningexperience upon medical and social work students in geriatric health care Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(4)372ndash373 doi103109135618202014962128

daggerGrady C Danis M Soeken K L OrsquoDonnell P Taylor C Farrar A amp Ulrich C M (2008) Does ethicseducation influence the moral action of practicing nurses and social workers The American Journal of Bioethics 8(4) 4ndash11 doi10108015265160802166017

daggerGroessl J (2013) An interdisciplinary ethics module for MSW and nursing students Social Work Education 32(5)639ndash649 doi101080026154792012695342

Hall L W amp Zierler B K (2015) Interprofessional education and practice guide no 1 developing faculty toeffectively facilitate interprofessional education Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(1) 3ndash7 doi103109135618202014937483

daggerHall P Brajtman S Weaver L Grassau P A amp Varpio L (2014) Learning collaborative teamwork an argumentfor incorporating the humanities Journal of Interprofessional Care 28(6) 519ndash525 doi103109135618202014915513

daggerHaskins A M (2008) An exploration of satisfaction psychological stress and readiness for interprofessional learningin medical nursing allied health and social work students in an interprofessional health care course Available fromProQuest Dissertations and Theses

Head B A Schapmire T Earnshaw L Faul A Hermann C Jones C hellip Pfeiffer M (2016) Evaluation of aninterdisciplinary curriculum teaching team-based palliative care integration in oncology Journal of CancerEducation 31(2) 358ndash365 doi101007s13187-015-0799-y

daggerHead B A Schapmire T Hermann C Earnshaw L Faul A Jones C hellip Pfeifer M (2014) The interdisciplinaryCurriculum for Oncology Palliative Care Education (iCOPE) meeting the challenge of interprofessional educationJournal of Palliative Medicine 17(10) 1107ndash1114 doi101089jpm20140070

Heflin M T Pinheiro S O Konrad T R Egerton E O Thornlow D K White H K amp McConnell E J (2014)Design and evaluation of a prelicensure interprofessional course on improving care transitions Gerontology ampGeriatrics Education 35(1) 41ndash63 doi101080027019602013831349

daggerHemmings A Beckett G Kennerly S amp Yap T (2013) Building a community of research practice Intragroupteam social dynamics in interdisciplinary mixed methods Journal of Mixed Methods Research 7(3) 261ndash273 doihttp1011772F15586898134784681011772F1558689813478468

daggerHenderson S Dalton M amp Cartmel J (2016) Using interprofessional learning for continuing education devel-opment and evaluation of the graduate certificate program in health professional education for clinicians Journal ofContinuing Education in the Health Professions 36(3) 211ndash217 doi101097CEH0000000000000093

22 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Hermann C P Head B A Black K amp Singleton K (2016) Preparing nursing students for interprofessionalpractice the interdisciplinary curriculum for oncology palliative care education Journal of Professional Nursing 32(1) 62ndash71 doi101016jprofnurs201506001

Heuer A J Geisler S L Kamienski M Langevin D amp OrsquoSullivan M (2010) Introducing medical students to theinterdisciplinary health care team piloting a case-based approach Journal of Allied Health 39(2) 76ndash80

daggerHirst S P Lane A M amp Stares B (2012) Gerontological content in Canadian nursing and social work programsCanadian Geriatrics Journal CGJ 15(1) 8 doi105770cgj1521

daggerHolt J Coates C Cotterill D Eastburn S Laxton J Mistry H amp Young C (2010) Identifying commoncompetences in health and social care An example of multi-institutional and inter-professional working NurseEducation Today 30(3) 264ndash270 doi101016jnedt200909006

Hooyman N amp Diwan S (2009) A planned change model CSWE curricular and programmatic developmentprograms In N Hooyman (Ed) Transforming social work education The first decade of the Hartford geriatric socialwork initiative (pp 99ndash102) Alexandria VA Council on Social Work Education Press

daggerHoracek T Brann L Erdman M Middlemiss M A amp Raj S (2009) Interprofessional learning communityEducating dietetic and other health profession students through an interdisciplinary service-learning experienceTopics in Clinical Nutrition 24(1) 6ndash15 doi101097TIN0b013e3181977fae

Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2008) Retooling for an aging America Building the health care workforce WashingtonDC National Academy Press

Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) (2016) Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice2016 update Washington DC Author

Jensen G M Harvan R A amp Royeen C B (2009) Interprofessional education Context complexity and challengeLeadership in interprofessional education and practice Salisbury MA Jones and Bartlett Publishers LLC

daggerJones B Phillips F Head B A Hedlund S Kalisiak A Zebrack B hellip Otis-Green S (2014) Enhancingcollaborative leadership in palliative social work in oncology Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life amp PalliativeCare 10(4) 309ndash321 doi101080155242562014975319

Jones B amp Phillips F (2016) Social work and interprofessional education in health care A call for continuedleadership Journal of Social Work Education 52(1) 18ndash29 doi1010801043779720161112629

daggerJotkowitz A amp Gesundheit B (2008) Comforting presence The role of nurses and social workers in clinical ethicsThe American Journal of Bioethics 8(4) 14ndash15 doi10108015265160802147124

daggerJuujaumlrvi S Pesso K amp Myyry L (2011) Care-based ethical reasoning among first-year nursing and social servicesstudents Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(2) 418ndash427 doi101111j1365-2648201005461x

daggerKaasalainen S Willison K Wickson-Griffiths A amp Taniguchi A (2015) The evaluation of a national interprofes-sional palliative care workshop Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(5) 494ndash496 doi103109135618202014998364

daggerKent F Drysdale P Martin N amp Keating J L (2014) The mixed-discipline aged-care student clinic An authenticinterprofessional learning initiative Journal of Allied Health 43(1) 51ndash56

daggerKenward L amp Stiles M (2009) Intermediate care An interprofessional education opportunity in primary careJournal of Interprofessional Care 23(6) 668ndash671 doi10310913561820802634761

daggerKinnair D J Anderson E S amp Thorpe L N (2012) Development of interprofessional education in mental healthpractice Adapting the leicester model Journal of Interprofessional Care 26(3) 189ndash197 doi103109135618202011647994

daggerKnight A (2013) Interprofessonal education Two analyses of revised instruments comparisons of professions andeffectiveness of an interprofessional health care course The University of North Dakota Theses and Dissertations

Kolomer S Quinn M E amp Steele K (2010) Interdisciplinary health fairs for older adults and the value ofinterprofessional service learning Journal of Community Practice 18(2ndash3) 267ndash279 doi101080107054222010485863

daggerLam W Chan E A amp Yeung K S (2013) Implications for school nursing through interprofessional education andpractice Journal of Clinical Nursing 22(13ndash14) 1988ndash2001 doi101111jocn12163

daggerLapum J Hamzavi N Veljkovic K Mohamed Z Pettinato A Silver S amp Taylor E (2012) A performative andpoetical narrative of critical social theory in nursing education An ending and threshold of social justice NursingPhilosophy 13(1) 27ndash45 doi101111j1466-769X201100520x

daggerLeigh J A (2014) Reconstructing practice-based educator roles through effective practicendasheducation partnershipsJournal of Clinical Nursing 23(13ndash14) 1767ndash1769 doi101111jocn12381

Levit L A Balogh E Nass S J amp Ganz P (Eds) (2013) Delivering high-quality cancer care charting a new coursefor a system in crisis (pp 7ndash8) Washington DC National Academies Press

daggerLidskog M Loumlfmark A amp Ahlstroumlm G (2007) Interprofessional education on a training ward for older peopleStudentsrsquo conceptions of nurses occupational therapists and social workers Journal of Interprofessional Care 21(4)387ndash399 doi10108013561820701349420

daggerLidskog M Loumlfmark A amp AhlstroumlM G (2008) Learning about each other Studentsrsquo conceptions before and afterinterprofessional education on a training ward Journal of Interprofessional Care 22(5) 521ndash533 doi10108013561820802168471

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 23

daggerLidskog M Loumlfmark A amp Ahlstroumlm G (2008) Studentsrsquo learning experiences from interprofessional collaborationon a training ward in municipal care Learning in Health and Social Care 7(3) 134ndash145 doi101111j1473-6861200800181x

daggerLidskog M Loumlfmark A amp Ahlstroumlm G (2009) Learning through participating on an interprofessional trainingward Journal of Interprofessional Care 23(5) 486ndash497 doi10108013561820902921878

Lockeman K S Dow A W DiazGranados D McNielly D P Nickol D Koehn M L amp Knab M S (2016)Refinement of the IPEC competency self-assessment survey Results from a multi-institutional study Journal ofInterprofessional Care 30(6) 726ndash731 doi1010801356182020161220928

Lustig T A (2013) Statement before the commission on long term care Retrieved from httpltccommissionorgltccommissionwp-contentuploads201312Tracy-Lustig

daggerMacKenzie D E Doucet S Nasser S Godden-Webster A L Andrews C amp Kephart G (2014) Collaborationbehind-the-scenes key to effective interprofessional education Journal of Interprofessional Care 28(4) 381ndash383doi103109135618202014890923

MacRae N amp Pardue K T (2007) Use of readers theater to enhance interdisciplinary geriatric educationEducational Gerontology 33(6) 529ndash536 doi10108003601270701328920

daggerManusov E Ronnau J Vela L Lydia A amp Galke C (2015) Engagement and co-production Building aninter-professional integrated medical education and clinical practice International Journal of Integrated Care 15(5)doi105334ijic2105

daggerMcLeod D Curran J Dumont S White M amp Charles G (2014) The Interprofessional Psychosocial OncologyDistance Education (IPODE) project perceived outcomes of an approach to healthcare professional educationJournal of Interprofessional Care 28(3) 254ndash259 doi103109135618202013863181

Mirick R G Davis A amp Wladkowski S P (2017) Understanding sampling and recruitment in social workdissertation research Advances in Social Work 18(2) 415ndash436 doi101806021167

Moher D Liberati A Tetzlaff J Altman D G amp PRISMA Group (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematicreviews and meta-analyses the PRISMA statement PLoS Medicine 6(7) e1000097

daggerMorton S (2016) Inter-professional education A missed opportunity Community Practitioner the Journal of theCommunity Practitionersrsquoamp Health Visitorsrsquo Association 89(7) 28

daggerMunoz C C DoBroka C C amp Mohammad S (2009) Development of a multidisciplinary course in culturalcompetence for nursing and human service professions Journal of Nursing Education 48(9) 495ndash503 doi10392801484834-20090610-03

Murphy J I amp Nimmagadda J (2015) Partnering to provide simulated learning to address InterprofessionalEducation Collaborative core competencies Journal of Interprofessional Care 29(3) 258ndash259 doi103109135618202014942779

daggerNewton J M Cross W M White K Ockerby C amp Billett S (2011) Outcomes of a clinical partnership modelfor undergraduate nursing students Contemporary Nurse 39(1) 119ndash127 doi105172conu2011391119

daggerOdegard P S Robins L Murphy N Belza B Brock D Gallagher T H hellip Mitchell P (2009) Interprofessionalinitiatives at the University of Washington American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 73(4) 63 doi105688aj730463

daggerOlsson M Persson M Kaila P Wikmar L N amp Bostroumlm C (2013) Studentsrsquo expectations when entering aninterprofessional masterrsquos degree program for health professionals a qualitative study Journal of Allied Health 42(1) 3ndash9

daggerOtis-Green S Yang E amp Lynne L (2013) ACE projectmdashadvocating for clinical excellence creating change in thedelivery of palliative care OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying 67(1ndash2) 5ndash19 doi1021902FOM671-2b

daggerPareacute L Maziade J Pelletier F Houle N amp Iloko-Fundi M (2012) Training in interprofessional collaborationPedagogic innovation in family medicine units Canadian Family Physician 58(4) e203ndashe209

Park J Hawkins M Hamlin E Hawkins W amp Bamdas J A M (2014) Developing positive attitudes towardinterprofessional collaboration among students in the health care professions Educational Gerontology 40(12)894ndash908 doi101080036012772014908619

daggerParker V A amp Geron S M (2007) Cultural competence in nursing homes Issues and implications for educationGerontology amp Geriatrics Education 28(2) 37ndash54 doi101300J021v28n02_04

daggerPhillips J MacGiollaRi D amp Callaghan S (2012) Encouraging research in social work Narrative as the threadintegrating education and research in social work Social Work Education 31(6) 785ndash793 doi101080026154792012695200

daggerPollard K C Miers M E amp Rickaby C (2012) ldquoOh why didnrsquot I take more noticerdquo Professionalsrsquo views andperceptions of pre-qualifying preparation for interprofessional working in practice Journal of InterprofessionalCare 26(5) 355ndash361 doi103109135618202012689785

daggerPoole J Rife J C Pearson F amp Moore W R (2009) Developing community partnerships with religiouslyaffiliated organizations to address aging needs A case study of the congregational social work education initiativeSocial Work amp Christianity 36(2) 176-191

24 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER

Poole J Rife J C Pearson F Moore L Reaves A M amp Moore W (2013) Innovative social work field educationin congregational and community-based settings serving persons fifty-five+ an interdisciplinary training initiativefor BSW and MSW Students Social Work and Christianity 40(4) 404

daggerPulsford D Hope K amp Thompson R (2007) Higher education provision for professionals working with peoplewith dementia a scoping exercise Nurse Education Today 27(1) 5ndash13 doi101016jnedt200602003

Reeves S Zwarenstein M Goldman J Barr H Freeth D Koppel I amp Hammick M (2010) The effectiveness ofinterprofessional education Key findings from a new systematic review Journal of Interprofessional Care 24230ndash241 doi10310913561820903163405

daggerRobins L Brock D M Gallagher T Kartin D Lindhorst T Odegard P hellip Belza B (2008) Piloting teamsimulations to assess interprofessional skills Journal of Interprofessional Care 22(3) 325ndash328 doi10108013561820801886438

Rogers A T Gualco K J Hinckle C amp Baber R L (2013) Cultivating interest and competency in gerontologicalsocial work Opportunities for undergraduate education Journal of Gerontological Social Work 56(4) 335ndash355doi101080016343722013775989

Rowan N L Gillette P D Faul A C Yankeelov P A Borders K W Deck S hellip Wiegand M (2009)Innovative interdisciplinary training in and delivery of evidence-based geriatric services Creating a bridge withsocial work and physical therapy Gerontology amp Geriatrics Education 30(3) 187ndash204 doi10108002701960903133448

Rubin A amp Babbie E R (2011) Research methods for social work (7th ed) Belmont CA BrooksColedaggerSalm T Greenberg H Pitzel M amp Cripps D (2010) Interprofessional education internships in schools Jump

starting change Journal of Interprofessional Care 24(3) 251ndash263 doi10310913561820903051469daggerSchwartz E S Baugh J J Honsky J amp Luebbers E (2015) A patient advocacy program established through an

interprofessional student-run free clinic Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 26(1) 300ndash308doi101353hpu20150024

daggerSedgwick M (2011) Rural hospital interdisciplinary team membersrsquo experience of undergraduate nursing preceptor-ship A qualitative descriptive study Nurse Education in Practice 11(4) 278ndash282 doi101016jnepr201101004

daggerSelle K M Salamon K Boarman R amp Sauer J (2008) Providing interprofessional learning through interdisci-plinary collaboration The role of ldquomodellingrdquo Journal of Interprofessional Care 22(1) 85ndash92 doi10108013561820701714755

Sheppard K D Ford C R Sawyer P Foley K T Harada C N Brown C J amp Ritchie C S (2015) Theinterprofessional clinical experience interprofessional education in the nursing home Journal of InterprofessionalCare 29(2) 170ndash172 doi103109135618202014942776

daggerSims D (2011a) Achieving collaborative competence through interprofessional education Lessons learned fromjoint training in learning disability nursing and social work Social Work Education 30(1) 98ndash112 doi10108002615471003748056

daggerSims D (2011b) Reconstructing professional identity for professional and interprofessional practice A mixedmethods study of joint training programmes in learning disability nursing and social work Journal ofInterprofessional Care 25(4) 265ndash271 doi103109135618202011571352

daggerSmith R A amp Pilling S (2007) Allied health graduate programndashsupporting the transition from student toprofessional in an interdisciplinary program Journal of Interprofessional Care 21(3) 265ndash276 doi10108013561820701259116

daggerStepney P Callwood I Ning F amp Downing K (2011) Learning to collaborate a study of nursing studentsrsquoexperience of inter-professional education at one UK university Educational Studies 37(4) 419ndash434 doi101080030556982010539669

Supiano K P (2013) Weaving interdisciplinary and discipline-specific content into palliative care education Onesuccessful model for teaching end-of-life care Journal of Death and Dying 67(1ndash2) 201ndash206 doi102190OM671-2x

daggerSweigart L I Umoren R A Scott P J Carlton K H Jones J A Truman B amp Gossett E J (2016) VirtualTeamSTEPPSreg simulations produce teamwork attitude changes among health professions students Journal ofNursing Education 55(1) 31ndash35 doi10392801484834-20151214-08

daggerTan Z S Damron-Rodriguez J Cadogan M Gans D Price R M Merkin S S hellip Chodosh J (2017) Team-Based interprofessional competency training for dementia screening and management Journal of the AmericanGeriatrics Society 65(1) 207ndash211 doi101111jgs14540

daggerTew J Holley T amp Caplen P (2012) Dialogue and challenge Involving service users and carers in small grouplearning with social work and nursing students Social Work Education 31(3) 316ndash330 doi101080026154792011557429

daggerThompson B M Bratzler D W Fisher M J Torres A Faculty E P I C amp Sparks R A (2016) Workingtogether using a unique approach to evaluate an interactive and clinic-based longitudinal interprofessionaleducation experience with 13 professions Journal of Interprofessional Care 30(6) 754ndash761 doi1010801356182020161227962

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION 25

daggerTourse R W C Mooney J F Shindul-Rothschild J Prince J Pulcini J A Platt S amp Savransky H (2008) Theuniversitycommunity partnership Transdisciplinary course development Journal of Interprofessional Care 22(5)461ndash474 doi10108013561820802355615

daggerTraube D E Pohle C E amp Barley M (2012) Teaching evidence-based social work in foundation practice coursesLearning from pedagogical choices of allied fields Journal of Evidence-based Social Work 9(3) 241ndash259doi101080154337142010525417

daggervan Schaik S M Regehr G Eva K W Irby D M amp Orsquosullivan P S (2016) Perceptions of peer-to-peerinterprofessional feedback among students in the health professions Academic Medicine 91(6) 807ndash812doi101097ACM0000000000000981

Whitaker T Weismiller T amp Clark E (2006) Assuring the sufficiency of a frontline workforce A national study oflicensed social workers Washington DC National Association of Social Workers

daggerWilliams A Mostyn A amp Fyson R (2009) Nursing and social work studentsrsquo perceptions of lecturing by non-university practitioners Journal of Interprofessional Care 23(1) 98ndash100 doi10108013561820802278577

World Health Organization (WHO) (2010) Framework for action on interprofessional education amp collaborativepractice Geneva Switzerland World Health Organization Retrieved from httpwhqlibdocwhointhq2010WHO_HRH_HPN_103_engpdf

daggerYaffe M J Wolfson C amp Lithwick M (2009) Professions show different enquiry strategies for elder abusedetection Implications for training and interprofessional care Journal of Interprofessional Care 23(6) 646ndash654doi10310913561820902886279

daggerYamauchi T Takeshima T Hirokawa S Oba Y amp Koh E (2017) An educational program for nursing and socialwork students using artwork created by people with mental health problems International Journal of Mental Healthand Addiction 15(3) 503ndash513 doi101007s11469-016-9716-9

daggerYeung K S S Ho A P Y Lo M C H amp Chan E A (2009) Social work ethical decision making in aninter-disciplinary context British Journal of Social Work 40(5) 1573ndash1590 doi101093bjswbcp065

Young H M Siegel E O McCormick W C Fulmer T Harootyan L K amp Dorr D A (2011) Interdisciplinarycollaboration in geriatrics Advancing health for older adults Nursing Outlook 59(4) 243ndash250 doi101016joutlook201105006

daggerZorek J amp Raehl C (2013) Interprofessional education accreditation standards in the USA a comparative analysisJournal of Interprofessional Care 27(2) 123ndash130 doi103109135618202012718295

26 S J BELTRAN AND V J MILLER