Examining the effects of interprofessional education on mental health providers: findings from an updated systematic review

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE)'s popularity as an effective strategy to enhance the ability of health professionals to work in interprofessional teams has grown substantially over the past decade. AIMS: Building upon the work of Reeves ( 2001 ), this paper provides an updated systematic review of the effects of IPE on mental health providers delivering adult mental health care from 1967 to 1998. METHOD: A systematic review was undertaken to update an earlier review in this field. Three databases (Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched from January 1999 to December 2007, and 16 articles were included in the review. RESULTS: A triangulation approach was used to rate the quality of the evidence reported by the studies, and yielded the following article ratings: five good, five acceptable, four poor, and two unacceptable. Overall, the use of theory to inform IPE was limited. Methodologically, before-and-after study designs were most common, as were multiple data collection techniques. Few studies attributed negative/unintended consequences to IPE, or reported clear limitations to their approaches or findings. CONCLUSION: The review suggests an improvement in the methodological rigor in research designs, with a preference for mixed methods and outcomes measured at more complex levels.