Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
D.S.W. Social work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
FangHsun Wei, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Christopher Harris, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Stephen W. Stoeffler, Ph.D.
Abstract
The demand and need for social workers to enter the healthcare field continues to grow in the United States, particularly in integrated care settings working with other healthcare professionals. Social workers bring a unique perspective to the table, particularly when it comes to understanding and addressing intricate health issues like social determinants of health and social inequalities impacting individuals. However, they face numerous obstacles that hinder their ability to function optimally. These challenges begin during their undergraduate and graduate education, where there is a disparity among social work schools regarding the implementation of Interprofessional Education (IPE). This is partly due to the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) lack of explicit guidelines on IPE, despite being a member of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC). Considering these identified barriers, the author of the study undertook a systematic review to ascertain the best practices for IPE and the necessary IPE-related competencies and skills that social work students need to develop. The PRISMA Checklist was employed to steer the study protocol and the overall systematic review. Moreover, the study protocol was registered and approved by PROSPERO. Transformative learning theory served as the theoretical foundation of the review. The study’s findings recommend a triad-based approach to IPE, which includes experiential learning experiences, field-based experiences, and IPE-related coursework. This is considered the most effective practice for implementing IPE. Additionally, IPE competencies should be in line with those proposed by the IPEC (2023), and IPE-related skills should encompass interpersonal, knowledge-based, and clinical/technical skills.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Vitti, Devon, "Interprofessional Education in Healthcare Related Social Work: A Systematic Review" (2024). Social Work Doctoral Dissertations. 37.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/socialworkdissertations/37
