https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1623-9302
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ABSTRACT
The increasing burden of chronic diseases, and shortage of health care workers especially in Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs) requires greater collaborative working between health professions. There is a growing body of evidence that interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional continuous education (IPCE) can improve collaborative practice thus strengthening health care delivery in low resource settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes this educational strategy in these regions as part of wider programs to improve health care. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize IPE and IPCE activities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and its outcomes; including practice, service and patient outcomes. Standard guidelines for conducting and reporting systematic reviews were followed. The online databases searched included MEDLINE, Embase, Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC), the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Science Direct. The Kirkpatrick model was used to classify IPE outcomes reported from literature. Following full text screening, 41 articles were selected for data extraction. It was found that IPE/IPCE is still a relatively new concept in SSA with 93% of studies published after 2012. Furthermore, IPE is concentrated predominantly in undergraduate institutions and mainly implemented to improve collaborative practice and address important public health concerns. Positive reaction and outcomes of IPE/IPCE were reported in terms of change of attitude and perception toward collaborative practice as well as knowledge and skills acquisition. Few studies in SSA sought to understand and measure the outcomes of IPE/IPCE relating to health care practice. More work in this important potential outcome of IPE/IPCE is recommended.
Acknowledgement
Special acknowledgements to Vicki Cormie the senior academic liaison librarian, University of St. Andrews for offering support in literature search for this review.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Gatera Fiston Kitema
Mr Gatera Fiston Kitema is a community eye health and Disability specialist and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Rwanda. Mr. Kitema is a PhD candidate at the University of St-Andrews looking at interprofessional education for eye health development using the Arclight package.
Anita Laidlaw
Dr Anita Laidlaw is currently the Director of the Centre for Healthcare Education Research and Innovation at the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen. Dr Laidlaw has been involved in the training of healthcare professionals for many years, mainly in clinical communication and behavioural sciences
Veronica O’Carroll
Dr Veronica O'Carroll is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Postgraduate Teaching in the School of Medicine, University of St Andrews. She is currently the Programme Director for the Masters in Health Professions Education program. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care and has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2008.
Jean Baptiste Sagahutu
Dr Jean Baptiste Sagahutu is an Associate Professor of Physiotherapy at the University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Physiotherapy Department. He is currently Coordinator of the Postgraduate programme in the School of Health Sciences. His research areas include Disability and Rehabilitation, Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPE/IPC).
Andrew Blaikie
Dr Andrew Blaikie is a Consultant Ophthalmologist in NHS Fife, Senior Lecturer in the Global Health Division team at the University of St Andrews and clinical lead for the Arclight Project. The Arclight Project is a social enterprise that enables teaching institutions and NGOs working in low resource countries to equip, train and empower all grades of health care workers to confidently diagnose and manage eye disease.