Interprofessional Education in Health training in Brazil: Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: Interprofessional education (IPE) can be used to improve health care by promoting opportunities for students to develop competencies for teamwork, collaborative practice and comprehensive care. However, the effects of IPE implementation in the Brazilian context need to be explored. Objective: To map the Brazilian scientific production on the learning of students attending health courses in the context of IPE, challenges and advances for educators and management. Method: A scoping review was carried out to answer the following question: How does student learning occur in formative processes that use the IPE approach from the viewpoint of students, educators and managers? The search took place in the Web of Science databases, Capes, Scopus and Virtual Health Library, using the descriptor/keyword “interprofessional education.” Publications were searched from 2010 to 2020, published in Portuguese, English or Spanish, of which Brazil was the country of publication or origin of the study. We identified 145 studies; 53 were duplicated, 92 were analyzed, and 28 comprised the final sample. The findings were organized into “IPE from the student’s perspective,”; “ IPE from the educators’ perspective,”; “Advances and challenges in teaching and health management,”; “Recommendations for IPE in the Brazilian context.” Results: The target audience involved students, residents, facilitators and health staff, totaling 2,886 participants. Learning according to the IPE allows the student to recognize the integrality of patient care and the SUS as the guide of health actions. The facilitator is relevant in developing collaborative work but has little pedagogical training, motivation, and institutional support. Management understands IPE as a complementary tool, supporting other Brazilian politician reforms, but efforts are needed to promote teaching-service-community integration and endorse the integrated curriculum. Conclusion: By mapping IPE, it was identified that the studies are aligned with the SUS to transform the training and qualification of care, demonstrating the potential of IPE for health curricula. Student learning, mediated by interprofessionality, has facilitated the development of the competencies required to meet the DCNs and the needs of the SUS, despite the various challenges faced by the students, educators and management.