Abstract
Health professionals treat a growing multiethnic population. The results of this mixed-methods research showed the positive effect of a short-term Costa Rica study-abroad experience on interprofessional and cultural competencies, teamwork, and collaboration of OT and nursing students. OT educators can use these methods as a guide in their own programs to strive for collaborative mutual enrichment and to broaden learning opportunities focused on OT in a globally connected world.
Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany N. Saviers
Contributing Authors: Lavona S. Traywick, Julie Meaux
Health professionals must be prepared to meet the health needs of the growing multiethnic population in the U.S. The World Health Organization acknowledges the need for healthcare educational programs to include international and interprofessional learning opportunities. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education identified cultural relevancy and interprofessional learning as an essential component for student education. There is widespread agreement in the literature regarding the benefits of international and interprofessional experiences on students in professional healthcare programs and their ability to acquire skills necessary for effective practice in global settings (Manspeaker, et al., 2019). However, educational pedagogy and strategies for measuring the outcomes of such experiences are less researched and understood. Therefore, an international level one fieldwork experience with a research component was developed. It included students from occupational therapy and nursing to create an opportunity to acquire competencies in interprofessional communication, teamwork, and collaboration. Through occupation-centered teaching and learning experiences, students were engaged in learning the physical and social determinants of health and longevity for the people of the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica-one of the five areas in the world identified as a ‘Blue Zone' (Madrigal-Leer, et al., 2019). A mixed-methods study design was used to gain a more complete understanding of student learning as a result of the international experience. The purpose of this research was to measure the effect of a short-term Costa Rica study abroad experience on interprofessional and cultural competencies of students. The study consisted of 4 training sessions and the 10 day international experience. At the first session, 11 graduate occupational therapy doctoral students and 6 undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students completed the pre-tests. While abroad, students engaged in hands-on activities, tours, observations, and dialogue with local residents, healthcare professionals, and researchers. Post-study assessments were collected electronically immediately following return to the U.S. These included demographic data about the students, the Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCQ; Mareno, Hart, & VanBrackle, 2013), the Entry Level Interprofessional Questionnaire (ELIQ; Pollard, Meirs, & Gilchrist, 2016), and the student reflection journals. Quantitative data analysis was performed using SPSS; demographic data used descriptive statistics. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used for analysis of the CCQ and the ELIQ. Qualitative data from the student reflections were coded and analyzed using narrative analysis. Axial coding was used in the development of themes. Data comparisons with the quantitative data were used for thematic analysis. Results of the CCQ subscales showed statistically significant improvement in knowledge (p < .001) and skills (p < .001). The ELIQ Likert scale results suggest statistically significant improvement in Communication and Teamwork (p < .05). The qualitative data further support the value of study abroad experiences for level one fieldwork for developing cultural competencies in health professional students. In conclusion, this study suggests a short-term international experience can help students improve cultural knowledge and skill. Through this teaching and learning process, students were able to adopt occupation as a vehicle for learning about a different health profession and country, while shaping their view of the world, people, and how the profession is inextricably linked to global culture. These perspectives would have been challenging to learn in a single, time-limited interprofessional activity.
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