Community-based quality improvement education for the health professions: balancing benefits for communities and students

Abstract

In 1993, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) formed the Interdisciplinary Professional Education Collaborative (IPEC). From the beginning, two potentially opposing challenges emerged. One reflects the first part of IPEC's aim 'to equip health professionals with the ability to continually improve'. The other reflects the second part of the aim 'to continually improve the health of the individuals and communities they serve.' Debate occurred around two questions: 'Are we educating students?' and 'Are we improving health?'. Each question reflects different and separate complex processes and systems. How can two systems-the system to educate health professionals and the system that influences the health of the community-interact so that each realises a mutual benefit? Through our work in the collaborative we identified six key factors that will lead to successful and mutually advantageous student/community projects. These are: (1) understand community health issues; (2) connect the educational institution and the community; (3) define a target community; (4) understand the people you wish to serve; (5) identify appropriate, short-term projects; (6) practice interdisciplinary teamwork. Work from two Local Interdisciplinary Teams (LIT's), Rochester, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, illustrates these factors.