Exploring Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Practice (IPECP) in Oral Health Education for Professional and Interprofessional Socialization and Identity Development: A Scoping Review

Background: Interprofessional collaboration between oral and health professionals supports enhanced patient care and outcomes. IPECP in pre-licensure education supports professional/interprofessional socialization. Within IPECP, students develop understanding of their professional role, identity and begin developing an interprofessional identity where collaborative attitudes, behaviours, and skills are developed. IPECP literature in oral health education is limited. It is not well understood how dental hygiene (DH) and dentistry (DDS) students are educated in IPECP and prepared for interprofessional practice.

Objective: To assess the literature on IPECP models used within DDS and/or DH pre-licensure education. Research questions are: i) What IPECP experiences enable professional/interprofessional socialization and interprofessional identity development? ii) What IPECP experiences enable developing collaborative skills, attitudes, behaviours and readiness for collaborative practice? iii) What IPECP experiences are most impactful for understanding professional roles/scopes?     

Methods: This review was conducted using JBI methodology for scoping reviews and an a priori protocol. CINAHL, DOSS, PubMED, APAPsychInfo were searched for peer-reviewed articles, within the last 10 years, in English specific to IPECP models used in pre-licensure education of DDS and/or DH students. Articles (n=321) were screened by two reviewers for title/abstract followed by full-text using an appraisal tool. Twenty-eight articles were included.  

Results: IPECP models included: case studies, simulation, and clinical practice/service-learning. IPECP experiences that combined socialization opportunities and experiential learning were most impactful for connecting theory to collaboration in practice. IPECP beyond a single event best supported development of collaborative skills, behaviours, and attitudes. Regular exposure to IPECP experiences enhanced students’ preparedness for collaborative practice and interprofessional identity development.  

Conclusion: Increased integration of DH/DDS students into IPECP in health professions education is needed. IPECP for developing an interprofessional identity in DH/DDS students remains understudied; longitudinal and qualitative analyzes are needed to inform impacts and IPECP development.  

Implications: Preparing students for interprofessional collaborative practice is contingent on addressing the divide between oral and primary health care professions through IPECP. Providing meaningful and authentic experiences of interprofessional collaboration for DH/DDS students in oral health programs is needed.

This poster addresses conference priority criteria: inclusion of a student/learner on the author or presenter team; measurable learning and health outcomes.