The making of the interprofessional arena in the United Kingdom: a social and political history

Abstract

This article offers a critical sociological rendering of the making of the interprofessional arena in the United Kingdom. It offers an interpretation of the conditions that led to the formation, expansion and development of the interprofessional arena using a social worlds/arenas lens of secondary data. I propose that the making of the interprofessional arena has been achieved in three historiographical phases. First, the “recognition of the professionalisation conundrum” that led to the intuitive assumption that interprofessional education (IPE) could lead to improved collaboration in practice and improved outcomes. Second, the “legitimisation” of the interprofessional assumption through the development of networks, building consensus, nurturing an evidence base and negotiating with policymakers. Third, “Talking up and acting up” the interprofessional agenda by developing global communities of practice, pandering to a neoliberal agenda, disseminating exemplars of good practice and encouraging practical changes within diverse settings. Articulating these historical “moments” may allow us insights into the conditions that have created the contemporary interprofessional arena and offer us ways of considering how present conditions may re-shape the discourses that constitute the interprofessional arena of the future.

• Health and social care
• historiography
• interprofessional care
• interprofessional education
• policy

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who provided constructive comments on an earlier draft of this paper.