Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This paper presents work in the continuum of campus-community partnerships to train health science students to advance health equity. The authors share the development, implementation, and evaluation of "Interprofessional Approaches to Health Disparities" (IAHD), a course offered at the University of Illinois Chicago, a large, urban, public, academic institution. METHODS: The IAHD course focuses on selected vulnerable populations: Geriatrics, HIV/AIDS, Homelessness, Immigrant and Refugee Health, Incarcerated Populations, and Intimate Partner Violence. Health science students from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and public health learn in interprofessional teams, with didactic and experiential learning activities. Training includes addressing social determinants of health through interprofessional education and mentored community-based participatory research projects. The Kirkpatrick's framework was used for program evaluation, with a retrospective pre-post design to measure self-efficacy for competence in interprofessional collaborative practice (IPC) using IPECC-SET, a validated instrument. The evaluation goal was to explore the impact of the learning experiences on attainment of learning objectives. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data explored the extent to which the learning objectives were met. Paired t-tests examined pre-post differences in self-efficacy for competence in IPC. Thematic analysis was conducted for open-ended qualitative data. RESULTS: Since its inception, 202 students have participated in the course. Program evaluation results indicate that students view the learning experiences positively; cumulatively, over 90% agreed that the course learning objectives were met. Analysis of the IPECC-SET data demonstrated statistically significant (p < 0.001) increases in self-efficacy for IPC across all 38 items, in all four domains. Qualitative data analysis yielded themes regarding the most effective aspects of the course and how learning experiences prepared students for their future work. DISCUSSION: Thus far, eleven cohorts of interprofessional health science students have been trained as a cadre of future health professionals, encouraged to continue practicing advocacy, leadership, scholarship, and interprofessional teamwork to advance health equity. The IAHD course is an exemplar of "Education in Action" and has led to meaningful contributions to the training of the future health professions workforce. It addresses workforce development needs, with a special focus on mitigating health disparities and advancing health equity to meet the challenges of the 21st century.