Interprofessionality: Collaborative learning experiences among the health area professions

Abstract

Interprofessional Education is currently presented as an essential strategy in the training of professionals able to work as a team in an interdisciplinary perspective. This work presents a literature review carried out in the Lilacs, Pubmed and Scielo databases of articles on interprofessional education experiences in health and interprofessionality. Eight reports were selected, five in Brazil, one in Portugal and two in the United States, addressing developed experiences, sometimes in the form of programs, subjects and/or modules, sometimes in learning spaces, sometimes in rehabilitation projects, ranging from small actions integrated to university courses with integrated curriculum and work practices. Positive experiences of interprofessional work were reported, with the overcoming of disparities in care and in the quality of health care, in addition to encouraging humanization initiatives. There were reports of difficulties in implementation and challenges to be overcome, such as the lack of adhesion of health professionals to the integration with other team members; lack of readiness of staff and administrators with the changes to be implemented and gaps in communication between educational institutions and health professionals. Interprofessionalism is an important tool for the collaborative work of professionals from different areas of health to share experiences, develop professionals who are critical, reflective and committed to health issues, strengthen the relationships between universities, services and communities and respond more effectively to needs of the community.