Lightning Talk

Understanding the Impact of Geriatric Collaborative Practice Among Older Adult Participants

Thursday, September 25, 2025, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm CDT
Collaborative practiceolder adultscommunity-based

The American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) estimates that over 77% of older adults aged 50 and older in the United States “want to remain in their homes for the long term” (2021). However, many older adults face persistent barriers rooted in inadequate supports related to their social determinants of health (SDOH), including food insecurity, limited language proficiency, and inadequate access to culturally competent care. These, in turn, result in decreased quality-of-life as well as increased risk for cognitive disorders and chronic conditions, making it difficult for older adults to live at home long-term.

Experiential education in community contexts helps not only to prepare the interprofessional team to be collaborative practice-ready when entering the workforce but also immediately meets the needs of older adults in the comfort of their own residence. Experiential IPE training programs provide an opportunity to enhance learner’s knowledge about and ability to recognize and address the social determinants of health that impact the health and well-being of vulnerable older adult populations. However, while literature has provided a great wealth of knowledge about the improvements on the participant’s part, there are gaps when it comes to recognizing the potential impact of collaborative learning.

This lightning talk explores how a 6-month Interprofessional Education and Geriatric Curriculum (IEGC) program served not only as a learning platform for health professions students, but as a meaningful intervention for community-dwelling older adults navigating these very challenges.
Data is gathered from a 6-month community-based Interprofessional Education and Geriatric Curriculum (IEGC) program involving teams of faculty facilitators and students from the Schools of Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physician Assistants, Physical Therapy, Psychology and Social Work. IEGC includes community-dwelling older adults who both participate in didactic sessions and are assigned to interact weekly with interprofessional teams where students learn from, with and about older adults, apply didactic content and skills, and share resources to meet identified SDOH needs throughout the program.

This lightning talk addresses the conference theme 4 Advancing Interprofessional Care through Practice-Education Partnerships by highlighting a 6 month interdisciplinary community-based Interprofessional Education and Geriatric Curriculum (IEGC) that involves teams of faculty facilitators, students and community-dwelling older adults. The perspectives of community-dwelling older adults and the program’s impact on their health and well-being as well as takeaways from health profession graduates 1-3 years post-graduation will be summarized.