Navigating the Health Care System: Integrating Social and Psychological Frameworks into a Foundational Training for Health Professions Students

Lack of or insufficient health insurance coverage affects access to care. The impact can be traumatic for both patients and those providing services. Preparing health professions students to address this issue by applying ecological systems theory (EST) and trauma-informed care (TIC) offers a novel approach to catalyze interprofessional collaboration around this challenge. This topic directly addresses the theme “Person, Family and Community-Engaged Practice and Education” by preparing future health care professionals to more effectively support their patients and families navigate the complex health care system. The seminar will consist of a description of our interprofessional learning experience, followed by small group activities and a large group debrief.

After attending this seminar, participants will be able to 1) examine how EST and TIC provide a novel framework for students to explore barriers that impact health care access; 2) develop an interprofessional activity that integrates these frameworks; and 3) create actionable next steps to guide the incorporation of these frameworks in interprofessional education.

Our 3-hour training involves students from nine health professions (n=336) collaborating in 46 interprofessional teams, each facilitated by an IPE-trained faculty. They apply EST to explore the impact of a health insurance policy on a family given their medical and socioeconomic circumstances. The team is then introduced to TIC before this family experiences an unexpected life event. Teams apply both frameworks to discuss the life event’s social, emotional, behavioral, and financial impact, and explore a collaborative approach to supporting this family. A baseline questionnaire assessed students’ familiarity with content. Post-training, students complete a self-assessment to reflect on changes in knowledge and confidence and their interprofessional experience. Data were analyzed descriptively. A 6-item interprofessional education (IPE) composite score was generated (Cronbach’s alpha 0.94). At baseline, only some students were extremely or very familiar with environmental factors that influence access to health care services (40%), TIC (23%), and interpreting insurance coverage (17%). Post-training, over 80% reported increased understanding in all three areas. Confidence in addressing health care coverage-related concerns increased from 10% to 83%. This was a well-received interprofessional training, indicated by an IPE composite score of 4.38 on a 5-point Likert scale.

During the seminar, our team will highlight the two theories and describe our training and learning outcomes (15 minutes). Participants will engage in small group discussions to explore existing IPE activities at their institutions where these frameworks might be applicable (15 minutes). They will then choose one IPE activity and incorporate either one or both frameworks to enhance the experience. A worksheet will be provided to guide participants in their discussion. They will post highlights of their worksheet responses using an online app such as IdeaBoardz (10 minutes). During the large group debrief, participants will share key discussion points (10 minutes), followed by Q&A and a summary of actionable next steps (10 minutes). Participants will leave with the knowledge and skills to integrate EST and TIC in their own interprofessional experiences.