One of the main comments I have heard in the 15 plus years I have been involved in IPE is - where is the longtitudinal evidence that it works. There is lots of evidence that illustrates that without good interprofessional team working things can be a disaster eg - The Francis Report, Victoria Climbie inquiry, the Case of Baby P., Caleb Ness Inquiry etc But where is the positive evidence? There have been one or two articles over the years with attempts at longtitudial analysis but there is a need for more.
Is this something we could do as a group? Put together a survey for distribution? Collect evidence in our own countries/areas? Ideas would be appreciated.
Or have you already got longtitudinal evidence that IPE works? Have you published on it? Send details to this forum.
Lesley
This is a great idea Lesley, you are right. Ive been teaching Midwives this week and we discussed the latest Cwm Taf Report on Midwifery services, again demonstrating the negative effects of lack if inter professional and leadership working. Wouldn't it be great to have an example of the opposite! It would certainly make my discussions more interesting and inspiring for undergraduates. I'd be very interested in any plans for this!
You're so right about the shortage of evidence. A systematic review of Interprofessional Education studies by Olson and Bialowcerkowski in Medical Education (2014; 48: 236–246) only found 17 eligible papers - and the authors' critique of these is pretty trenchant; "Evaluation remains the primary aim within this literature. Few studies use theory, take an inductive approach to understanding the processes behind IPE or include detailed participant descriptions." I'd love to see a high level study that really explores this question - but in a typical circular argument, it's hard to persuade potential funders of IPE research that IPE leads to effective patient care without the evidence in place to support it! So yes, I hope this is something that INHWE can take forward. Julie Browne (Cardiff UK)