Journal of Interprofessional Care

ISSN: 1356-1820 (Print) 1469-9567 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ijic20

Fostering interprofessional collaboration through

a family-centred programme for grandparent-
headed families

Youjung Lee, Judith Quranta & Elizabeth Anderson

To cite this article: Youjung Lee, Judith Quranta & Elizabeth Anderson (2017): Fostering
interprofessional collaboration through a family-centred programme for grandparent-headed
families, Journal of Interprofessional Care, DOI: 10.1080/13561820.2017.1296420

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1296420

Published online: 13 Mar 2017.

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JOURNAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1296420

SHORT REPORT

Fostering interprofessional collaboration through a family-centred programme for

grandparent-headed families
Youjung Leea, Judith Qurantab, and Elizabeth Andersonc
a
Department of Social Work, College of Community and Public Affairs, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, USA;
b
Decker School of Nursing, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, USA; cGraduate School of Education, State
University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Interprofessional education (IPE) is now widely considered an essential part of preparing profes- Received 28 May 2016
sionals to work more effectively with marginalised families, such as grandparent-headed families. Revised 14 December 2016
This study aims to explore the potential for IPE through a family-centred programme for grand- Accepted 14 February 2017
parent-headed families during professional preparation for education, social work, and nursing KEYWORDS
students to foster collaboration. Using mixed methods with concurrent data collection and Collaboration;
analyses, this study suggests that participation in IPE can positively impact perceptions of inter- family-centred programmes;
professional collaboration to better meet the multifaceted needs of grandparent-headed families grandparent-headed
by increasing awareness and self-efficacy for interprofessional collaboration in schools and dee- families; interprofessional
pening understandings of non-traditional families. Implications highlight possibilities for more education
flexible and integrated professional identities in working with children and their families as well
as the potential for future school professionals to embrace more comprehensive services in
schools.

Introduction the professional preparation of education, social work,

and nursing students.
The number of grandparent-headed families is steadily
increasing. These families have multifaceted needs, including
grandchildrens behavioural and academic challenges and Background
grandparents decreased well-being (Kelley, Whitley, &
From January to May 2015, eight grandparents and 15
Campos, 2011). As a result, custodial grandparents may
grandchildren participated in an interprofessional family-
experience challenges in building effective homeschool part-
centred programme developed by education, social work,
nerships. In order to build partnerships with grandparent-
and nursing faculty and students. The programme consists
headed families and provide effective services, school profes-
of six skill-building group sessions on science and mathe-
sionals must gain a clearer understanding of their multifa-
matics education (a family group session for grandparents
ceted needs. By engaging in interprofessional education (IPE)
and grandchildren), health and wellness (grandparents
as part of their professional preparation, school professionals
only), and effective homeschool communication (grand-
can develop the skills and professional dispositions necessary
parents only). While grandparents attended group ses-
to better meet the multifaceted needs of grandparent-headed
sions, their grandchildren participated in additional
families.
educational activities. Sessions were held in a University
The potential for utilising IPE as a way to better pre-
classroom.
pare school professionals is well established. Research
University students collectively developed profession-
finds that IPE increases understanding of each others
specific programme content (e.g. academic, psychosocial,
professions and the development of interprofessional com-
or physical health activities) after receiving didactic
munication and collaboration skills (Salm, Greenberg,
instruction from education, social work, and nursing
Pitzel, & Cripps, 2010) that guide their comprehensive
faculty. Students from across all the professions worked
practice with families (Shoffner & Briggs, 2001). In addi-
collaboratively to implement the six programme sessions,
tion, Barr (2007) recommends that in order to improve
including a group debriefing after each session. This
the quality of life for marginalised groups, it is important
debriefing encouraged students to share their perspectives,
that they are included in IPE. This study, therefore, aims
investigate the distinct language of each profession, and
to explore the potential role of IPE through a family-
develop a greater empathy for the unique issues con-
centred programme for grandparent-headed families in
fronted by each profession. Faculty from each profession

CONTACT Youjung Lee youjungl@binghamton.edu Department of Social Work, College of Community and Public Affairs, Binghamton University, PO Box
6000, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.
2017 Taylor & Francis
2 Y. LEE ET AL.

provided mentoring and role modelling for collaborative
practice, displaying respect for each others profession,
using a team-based approach.
Methods
A mixed-methods approach using concurrent data collection
and analyses (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007) was utilised.
within group differences in the students level of collaboration
before and after the IPE. Qualitative analysis of the focus
group and reflective essays was conducted in three steps: (1)
open coding, (2) axial coding, finding connections and con-
sequences among concepts and themes, and (3) selective cod-
ing, searching for exemplifying cases of each theme.
Ethical considerations

Data collection This study was approved by the universitys institutional

review board (IRB) before the study commenced.
Quantitative data were collected before and after the IPE
event using the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration
(IIC) (Bronstein, 2002). This measurement consists of 42 Results
Likert-scale items (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree) Quantitative findings
with five subscales: interdependence (13 questions), which
measures the occurrence of interactions with other profes- Wilcoxon signed rank tests revealed that the participation in
sionals to accomplish shared goals; newly created professional the IPE programme made significant changes in the students
activities (6 questions), which measures collaborative acts and perception of interprofessional collaboration (Z = 2.075,
structures maximising the collaborators expertise; flexibility p = .038, d = .52). The median scores on the total IIC before
(5 questions), which measures occurrence of role flexibility; and after the training were 104.0 and 90.5, respectively, show-
collective ownership of goals (8 questions), which measures ing that students level of collaboration increased after the
shared responsibility in accomplishing collective goals; and IPE. The pre- and post-test results on five subscales of the
reflection on process (10 questions), which measures the IIC are reported in Table 1.
collaborators attention to the process of working collectively.
The IIC has strong reliability ( = .92) and validity (Bronstein,
Qualitative findings
2002). Cronbachs alphas for the IIC among the current study
participants at the pre- and post-surveys were .91 and .90, Two major themes emerged from the focus group and educa-
respectively. tion students reflective essays.
Qualitative data included reflective essays by education
students and a one-hour interprofessional focus group with Theme 1: Participating in IPE during professional
education, social work, and nursing students following com- preparation increases awareness and self-efficacy for
pletion of the IPE facilitated by a social work faculty member. collaboration in schools
The following questions were used to explore the effectiveness Reflective essays and an interprofessional focus group
of the IPE on students professional preparation: (a) What is revealed that participating in an interprofessional family-
your experience with the quality of the IPE; (b) what are your centred programme broadened students awareness of the
recommendations for making our service helpful to grand- importance of collaboration in schools:
parent-headed families, school staff, and teachers; and (c)
what do you perceive as the benefits and challenges of incor- One of the most important concepts I learned from this project is
to think outside the box. . . I never would have thought to plan
porating the IPE into your professional preparation? A similar events with nurses and social workers. As a teacher, I realise the
set of questions were asked in education students reflective importance of building relationships with other staff members.
essays.
Thirteen education students, two social work students, and Students also noted the ways in which IPE helped them
one nursing student (n = 16) completed the prepost-surveys better understand the roles of other professionals in schools.
and participated in a focus group. Fourteen participants were Participants described the ways in which IPE increased their
female; two were male (each from education and social work). self-efficacy for working collaboratively across professions.
The majority of participants (n = 15) were White; one was
Asian. The mean ages of the students were 25 years old Table 1. Pre- and post-test results on the index of interdisciplinary collaboration.
(range: 19 yrs.6 yrs.). The education and social work stu- Subscales Pre-test Post-test p
dents were in their masters programme and received the IPE Total IIC score 107.81 (18.81) 94.50 (13.16) .038
as part of their elective course (education) or required intern- Mdn = 104.00 Mdn = 90.50
Interdependence 33.40 (5.68) 27.75 (5.00) .013
ship (social work). The nursing student was a second-semester Mdn = 33.50 Mdn = 28.50
freshman and participated in this programme as part of her Newly created professional activities 15.06 (4.55) 11.69 (2.91) .014
independent study. Mdn = 14.00 Mdn = 12.00
Flexibility 11.50 (2.03) 11.56 (1.75) .499
Mdn = 11.50 Mdn = 11.00
Collective ownership of goals 18.31 (3.63) 18.31 (2.30) .843
Data analysis Mdn = 18.00 Mdn = 18.50
Reflection on process 29.56 (6.29) 25.19 (5.32) .048
Due to the small sample size and non-normal distributions of Mdn = 30.50 Mdn = 26.00
IIC scores, the Wilcoxon signed-rank statistic was used to test Mean (SD), median (Mdn), and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test (n = 16).

For some participants, this experience increased a sense of
comfort working with other professions. A nursing student
reported:
At first I felt so awkward. . . They dont know me, and I dont
know them; but then I got so much more comfortable. . .Students
from education and social work made me feel comfortable.
An education student shared:
There is no doubt that the experiences I had working with other
disciplines of social work and nursing will help me in my career. . .
I think that the only way a school can function is when everyone
collaborates to reach their common goal.
Theme 2: Working across professions through a family-
centred program with grandparent-headed families
deepens understandings of non-traditional families
The qualitative data revealed participating in IPE during profes-
sional preparation deepens students understanding of non-tra-
ditional families, especially grandparent-headed families.
Participants described the ways in which their participation in
IPE encouraged them to view such families from multiple per-
spectives, thus allowing for more holistic understandings and
approaches to practice. As a result of this programme, the
majority of participants reported deepening their understand-
ings and increased empathy for grandparent-headed families.
An education student shared:
I learned that many of the grandparents feel disconnected with
teachers and school staff. . . There is limited communication with
their grandchilds school which has created a feeling of isolation.
Discussion
Findings from this study suggest that the IPE through a
family-centred programme with grandparent-headed families
increases education, social work, and nursing students per-
ception of interprofessional collaboration. In addition, similar
to findings from the study by Salm et al. (2010), this study
reveals that when students from across professions engage in
IPE, it increases their awareness of and self-efficacy for colla-
boration in schools, particularly in regard to each others
roles. This heightened self-efficacy for working collaboratively
across professions shows that the professional identities in
JOURNAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE 3
schools can be more flexible and open up a new integrated
identity in practice with children and their families. This
study also suggests that students gain a deeper understanding
of vulnerable populations when they engage in IPE through
programmes with non-traditional families. Moreover, this
study highlights previous findings on the importance of
including marginalised groups in IPE as a way to deepen
understandings of families (Barr, 2007) which will lead school
professionals comprehensive service in schools (Shoffner &
Briggs, 2001).
Findings from this study should be interpreted with
caution due to social desirability bias (the sample relied
on students who have known the researchers as their
instructors) and the small sample (n = 16). Even though
the overall statistical significance was observed in the score
of IIC, two subscales, flexibility and collective ownership of
goals, did not show significant improvement after the IPE.
In future research, a larger sample size can increase statis-
tical power to better ascertain the perceived impact of
the IPE.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are
responsible for the content and writing of this article.
References
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