Department of Public Health and Primary Care

Interprofessional collaboration in Education, Research and Practice (IPC-ERP)

Presentation of unit

Our mission is twofold: 

  • to optimize the interprofessional collaboration in healthcare and welfare with the quintuple aim of improving care at individual level (patient and health care provider), improving health status at population level, realizing more value with the same resources, creating added value for the professionals, and paying attention to social injustice and inclusion
  • to prepare future healthcare and welfare professionals for the interdisciplinary and interprofessional field of practice

Therefore we aim at: 

  • coordinating research on interprofessional collaboration focusing on the individual (professional wellbeing), the care team (team functioning) and the care receivers (quality of care)  
  • designing and implementing interprofessional education within all curricula involved in healthcare and welfare 

Topics

  • interprofessional identity 
  • interprofessional competencies 
  • professional identity and well-being 
  • interdisciplinary care 
  • integrated care 
  • care team dynamics 
  • complexity science 
  • curriculum evaluation 

Main activities

Research

Research is organized in the theme of four research lines: 

  • INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM DYNAMICS: Interprofessional identity and team dynamics
  • INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABERATIVE PATIENT CARE: Interprofessional collaboration and quality of health care
  • INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH: Impact of interprofessional education on (inter)professional identity and professional competences

Education 

Leren Interprofessioneel Samenwerken (LISa) is a learning continuum of interprofessional education implemented in multiple training programs of Ghent University, HOGENT and Artevelde Hogeschool. 

The LISa continuum is organized according to the validated framework of interprofessional competences (IPEC). 

Institutional, scientific and societal engagement 

  • Presentations for expert audience (e.g. several presentations in scientific conferences and membership of committees,…) as well as for a non-expert audience (e.g. general public communications and publications)
  • Post-academical courses for health care workers (life-long learning)
  • Consulting on interprofessional curriculum development

List of most important projects

    In collaboration with SVO Research Explorer - Centrum voor InterProfessionele Samenwerking in Onderwijs, Onderzoek en Praktijk (ugent.be) 

    • Interprofessional Identity Development in Health and Social Care: PhD project (2019-2023): construction of a conceptual framework and the Rubric Interprofessional Identity Development (RIPID) as well as the investigation on how health and social care students’ IPI develops.  UGent-Praktijken | Onderwijstips
    • Strategies to prevent and treat chronic pain in breast cancer survivors from a transmural perspective: This research project aims to develop and implement an intervention to assure early prevention and interdisciplinary care of pain complaints in breast cancer survivors, based on the current needs and gaps in practice. This project is funded by Kom op tegen Kanker.
    • Gerodent Plus:The aim of the project is to promote good oral health and to create the currently absent continuity in the provision of oral care for the rapidly growing group of vulnerable elderly living at home at the level of primary care regions. This goal is pursued through (1) improved interprofessional collaboration between caregivers and (2) improving access to care for frail and care-dependent elderly people who stay at home. Finally (3) we want to better coordinate regular dental care and existing mobile care (Gerodent). Funded by the Agency of Care and Health (Flanders).
    • Curricula screening to identify the existing interprofessional competencies in all courses of each study programme of the faculty of medicine and health sciences of Ghent Aim is to structure the interprofessional learning outcomes, following the IPEC framework. Collaboration between Ghent University, Artevelde Hogeschool and HOGENT is ongoing, to structure existing and new curricula as future-proof interprofessional education programmes.  UGent-Praktijken | Onderwijstips

    • ‘primary care academy’,

      The Primary Care Academy is a chair funded by the Daniel De Coninck Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, consisting of ten organizations (4 universities and 6 colleges). The Academy was founded five years ago and will start a new five-year term on the first of April 2024. Research is conducted on four themes by four academic research teams in close collaboration with all stakeholders, citizens and professionals. Collaboration between the academic research teams is guaranteed through a learning network and a strategic council. The external stakeholders are brought together in a societal board and an (international) scientific board.
      IPC-ERP (Prof Peter Pype) is the lead for the UGent work package of the Academy.
      Within this work package, research is being conducted into a core set of generic first-line competencies. These will be implemented in the curriculum of the Flemish Universities and Colleges, and can serve as quality improvement tools for the organization of Primary Care in Flanders.

    Collaborators

    Team Leader

    Affiliated Independent Academic Staff 

    Post-doctoral Researchers 

    PhD Students

    Academic assistant staff 

    Current partnerships 

    Contact data

    ipcerp@ugent.be 

    Twitter 

    LinkedIn