Working together or apart? Impact of interprofessional education on collaborative competencies of applied behavior analysis and occupational therapy practitioners

Zahava L. Friedman, Robin Akselrud, Dina Prisco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Applied behavior analysis and occupational therapy practitioners uniquely serve neurodivergent individuals, despite interprofessional contention. While some qualitative research exists, there is a need for quantitative and mixed-methods evaluation of evidence-based strategies to improve the collaboration between occupational therapy practitioners and applied behavioral analysis professionals. This study aimed to improve collaboration for enhanced outcomes between individuals from these two professions. This program assessed change in collaborative competencies of occupational therapy and applied behavior analysis professionals, following virtual interprofessional education initiative provided by a licensed certificant from each profession. Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey, open-ended survey questions and recorded focus group were used to evaluate program impacts. Quantitative results were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests and revealed statistically significant increases in participants’ whole scores (p<.05). Qualitative analysis revealed the value of practical, problem-based learning. This study demonstrated the potentiality of virtual interprofessional education, question-answer dialogue, and actionable strategies. Future studies can increase sample size and implement longer-term models.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)94-107
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Behavior Analysis
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Keywords

  • applied behavior analysis
  • Interprofessional collaboration
  • interprofessional education
  • occupational therapy
  • problem-based learning

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