PURPOSE
The Adapting Public Health Problem Solving Paradigm in Interprofessional
Team Training (PHIT) program at UNE COM integrates public health education
with interprofessional (IP) learning to prepare students to address complex
health challenges and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). This study
evaluates PHIT’s impact on IP competencies, role awareness, and readiness to
address SDOH.
METHODS
From Fall 2022 to Spring 2025, 113 students representing 11 health
professions completed pre- and post-training surveys. Instruments included
the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS-21), SDOH
competency items, and written reflections. Surveys assessed self-awareness,
communication, leadership, teamwork, role clarity, and confidence integrating
SDOH into care planning. The sample was predominantly female (77%) and White
(74.3%), with varied socioeconomic backgrounds (20.4% reporting family income
$200,000). Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t-tests, and
qualitative data from 32 reflections were coded using Dedoose®.
RESULTS
IP competencies improved significantly across multiple domains, including
communication, leadership, self-awareness, collaborative decision-making, and
understanding of professional roles (t = 11.93, p = 1.11 × 10?²¹).
SDOH-related skills also increased, with higher confidence in recognizing
community assets and barriers, understanding challenges faced by low-income
populations, and connecting patients with clinical and community resources (t
= 8.71, p = 3.14 × 10?¹?). Post-training, participants reported strong
agreement in maintaining mutual respect (90.3%), improving communication
(89.4%), enhancing teamwork (87.6%), using root-cause analysis (89.4%),
identifying patient needs (92.9%), and recognizing the importance of public
health engagement (92.9%). Qualitative themes reinforced these findings,
highlighting advocacy, financial and housing challenges, preventive services,
and mental health support.
CONCLUSION
PHIT participation resulted in significant improvements in IP competencies and
SDOH-related practice readiness. These findings support integrating public
health frameworks into IP curricula to strengthen future providers’ ability
to address clinical and social drivers of health. Future analyses will
examine subgroup differences to guide curricular refinement.