Health Promotion Practice and Interprofessional Education in Aging: Senior Wellness Fairs

Abstract

Senior wellness fairs (SWFs) offer a unique opportunity for community health promotion and interprofessional education (IPE). The authors describe and evaluate the impact of a 3-year, university-community SWF collaboration on interprofessional competencies among students across multiple professional programs. Participation in the SWF enhanced student knowledge and skills in providing health promotion information to older adults in an interprofessional, collaborative setting as indicated by mean scores on the Perceived Learning Outcomes Survey, an instrument developed for this project. Open-ended data highlighted aspects of the SWF that students found most useful (interaction with seniors, community resources, interprofessional learning, and self-awareness) and most challenging (communication barriers, limited opportunity for interaction, and physical environment). Pre- and posttest scores on the Multidisciplinary SWF Practice Learning Quiz, another instrument developed for this project, illustrated improvement in student understanding of other professions and the importance of interprofessional cooperation to promote and maintain healthy aging. Implications and suggestions for structuring learning opportunities that combine community health promotion practice and interprofessional learning are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• health promotion
• multidisciplinary collaboration
• interprofessional education
• university-community partnership

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors express thanks to the Dean’s office in the College of Applied Sciences & Arts for the support provided to the Center for Healthy Aging in Multicultural Populations (CHAMP); and to our partners: the Timpany Center; Santa Clara County Department of Aging & Adult Services; and CommUniverCity. We also gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the students, faculty, and staff of the many academic departments for their contributions in implementing the Senior Wellness Fairs.