Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions



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CURRENT ISSUE BACK ISSUES SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE ABOUT JCEHP FOR AUTHORS JCEHP AWARD SEARCH		Volume 26 (1) Volume 26, Issue 1, Winter 2006 J Contin Educ Health Prof 2006; 26(1):46 RESEARCH ARTICLE Knowledge Translation and Interprofessional Collaboration: Where the Rubber of Evidence-Based Care Hits the Road of Teamwork Merrick Zwarenstein Scott Reeves A b s t r a c t Knowledge-translation interventions and interprofessional education and collaboration interventions all aim at improving health care processes and outcomes. Knowledge-translation interventions attempt to increase evidence-based practice by a single professional group and thus may fail to take into account barriers from difficulties in interprofessional relations. Interprofessional education and collaboration interventions aim to improve interprofessional relations, which may in turn facilitate the work of knowledge translation and thus evidence- based practice. We summarize systematic review work on the effects of interventions for interprofessional education and collaboration. The current evidence base contains mainly descriptive studies of these interventions. Knowledge is limited regarding the impact on care and outcomes and the extent to which the interventions increase the practice of evidence-based care. Rigorous multimethod research studies are needed to develop and strengthen the current evidence base in this field. We describe a Health Canada-funded randomized trial in which quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered in 20 general internal medicine units located at 5 Toronto, Ontario, teaching hospitals. The project examines the impact of interprofessional education and collaboration interventions on interprofessional relationships, health care processes (including evidence-based practice), and patient outcomes. Routes are suggested by which interprofessional education and collaboration interventions might affect knowledge translation and evidence-based practice. Lessons for Practice There is very little rigorous research that considers knowledge translation, continuing education, or research utilization in the interprofessional context. The complex interprofessional nature of almost all health care delivery means that interventions aimed at one professional group will have an impact on the work of other professional groups and will be affected by their relations with the target profession and their response to the proposed intervention. When developing knowledge-translation interventions and continuing education programs, the design should accommodate the needs of the many professions in the health care workplace. Consider whether it is possible to conduct the activity in multiprofessional groups—that is, as interprofessional education. Implementation of changes in the practice of one profession seldom occur without accommodation or active engagement by other professions and so create a workplace-based interprofessional collaboration activity around the tasks that will be affected. Key Words: Interprofessional education, interprofessional collaboration, randomized controlled trials, multimethod evaluation, knowledge translation, evidence-based care, continuing education
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