Let’s Learn Together! A Mixed-Methods Study to Assess Readiness for Interprofessional Education on Total Worker Health® Practice

Details

• Personal Author:
  Nobrega S ; Zhang Y
• Description:
  Background: Occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals increasingly need interdisciplinary collaborative practice competencies to respond to complex worker safety, health, and well-being risks. Effective collaboration with non-OSH-trained professionals (e.g., health promotion, human resources) is critical for planning integrated interventions that address work and non-work risks, consistent with a "Total Worker Health" (TWH) approach. Interprofessional education (IPE) pedagogy offers skill-building for interdisciplinary collaboration, but little attention has been given to IPE in OSH education and training literature. The goal of this study was to assess OSH professionals' perceptions about IPE to guide application in postgraduate TWH education. Methods: The mixed-methods study involved 210 U.S. professionals in safety (31%), industrial hygiene (16%), occupational nursing (12%) and medicine (11%), and related disciplines (30%). Participants completed a 12-item Readiness for Interprofessional Education Scale (RIPLS) adapted for TWH. Nineteen survey-takers also participated in virtual focus groups to share opinions about IPE benefits, barriers, and desirable course features. Findings: Occupational safety and health professionals reported high overall readiness for IPE (RIPLS, 4.45 +/- 0.47), endorsing IPE for interdisciplinary skill-building. Salient IPE motivators were learning new perspectives from diverse disciplines and industries; gaining new subject expertise; developing common ground across disciplines; and learning TWH best practices. Participants recommended case studies to practice interdisciplinary problem-solving through group work. Conclusions/Application to Practice: Interprofessional education is a promising pedagogy for OSH continuing education to promote interdisciplinary collaboration skills needed for TWH practice in the workplace. Occupational safety and health educators need to build competency in IPE pedagogical theory and practice to ensure effective training design and evaluation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Interprofessional Education Continuing Education Intervention Nursing Occupational Medicine Occupational Safety And Health Pedagogy Safety Personnel Total Worker Health TWH
• ISSN:
  2165-0799
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  223-233
• Volume:
  72
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069142
• Citation:
  Workplace Health Saf 2024 Jun; 72(6):223-233
• Contact Point Address:
  Suzanne Nobrega, PhD, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Falmouth Hall 305F, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
• Email:
  suzanne_nobrega@uml.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Workplace Health & Safety
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2eddc24ad7c4ed6109d934cdb97825fb91dfd1296d8f4e8cfa3f253aa4ac0b79e8bbabd38736f58d13f3e259cb62dd89219e07b23cfaddae2bef005fc6088c34
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207676/cdc_207676_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 204.77 KB ]