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Collaborative Healthcare: Interprofessional Practice, Education and Evaluation (JCIPE)

Abstract

Background

It is well established in the literature that patient outcomes and quality of care are optimized when disciplines work together (Chonienne et al., 2010). Interprofessional practice (IPP) among health professionals is even more important when working with individuals exposed to trauma, which can result in disrupted physical, cognitive, and social development, and manifest in an array of physical and psychological symptoms (e.g. Felitti & Anda, 1998). Consequently, professionals across social service and healthcare systems may encounter and simultaneously serve trauma-affected individuals. However, healthcare and behavioral health systems are historically fragmented and frequently fail to provide the coordinated and integrated care that is most effective in treating individuals with high levels of trauma exposure, resulting in ongoing unmet health needs (World Health Organization [WHO], 2010). Philadelphia residents require coordinated, collaborative care, as they experience rates of adversity in childhood three times more often than those found in a national sample (Public Health Management Corporation [PHMC], 2013). The overwhelming prevalence and pervasive impacts of childhood trauma, coupled with the patient care benefits of interprofessional practice, provide strong evidence to support the establishment of interprofessional training curricula for emerging health and behavioral health professionals at Jefferson, a University committed to improving lives in Philadelphia and beyond.

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