Evaluation of a student-led interprofessional innovative health promotion model for an underserved population with diabetes: A pilot project

Abstract

Interprofessional education seeks to encourage different health professions to interact and learn together during their training process which will eventually lead to collaborative healthcare practices and improved care for patients. This study determined whether student understanding of diabetes management and the role of health professionals in diabetes care improved after the implementation of an interprofessional health promotion program. Sixty-three students from five health professions led six educational sessions concentrating on critical components of diabetes management. The longitudinal program covered topics within the Alphabet Strategy (A–G). Students were surveyed to determine their understanding of diabetes management. Data were gathered at the beginning of the study and its conclusion. Forty-seven students completed the program and the pre- and post-survey. There were significant improvements in students' knowledge of diabetes care, understanding of the roles of healthcare professionals and ability to work with other healthcare professionals. Nineteen patients completed the study. There were no significant differences in patients' diabetes knowledge, understanding of diabetes care and clinical outcomes. This study acknowledged the potential value of an interprofessional team approach to care. This innovative model could be applied to other practice settings and used for the management of other chronic diseases.

Keywords::

• Surveys
• interprofessional education
• interprofessional care
• underserved populations
• health promotion

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Center for Disease, Prevention and Control (CDC), grant number. 1H75DP002337-01. The authors would like to acknowledge the leadership efforts of Kelly Larson, BreAnn Neiger and Jennifer Tinguely who supervised the medical students and helped facilitate aspects of the educational session assigned to them. We acknowledge Karly Hegge, James Clem, Marti Pollard and Ann Brunick who were involved in the development and implementation of this interprofessional health promotion program. We also thank all pharmacy, nursing, medical, dental hygiene and nutrition students of South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota who volunteered their time and effort toward the implementation of the program.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.