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Article
Health Promotion Practice and Interprofessional Education in Aging: Senior Wellness Fairs
Gerontology & Geriatrics Education (2015)
  • Sadhna Diwan, San Jose State University
  • Megan Perdue
  • Sang E. Lee, San Jose State University
  • Brian R. Grossman, University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract
Senior wellness fairs (SWFs) offer a unique opportunity for community health promotion and interprofessional education (IPE). The authors describe and evaluate the impact of a 3-year, university-community SWF collaboration on interprofessional competencies among students across multiple professional programs. Participation in the SWF enhanced student knowledge and skills in providing health promotion information to older adults in an interprofessional, collaborative setting as indicated by mean scores on the Perceived Learning Outcomes Survey, an instrument developed for this project. Open-ended data highlighted aspects of the SWF that students found most useful (interaction with seniors, community resources, interprofessional learning, and self-awareness) and most challenging (communication barriers, limited opportunity for interaction, and physical environment). Pre- and posttest scores on the Multidisciplinary SWF Practice Learning Quiz, another instrument developed for this project, illustrated improvement in student understanding of other professions and the importance of interprofessional cooperation to promote and maintain healthy aging. Implications and suggestions for structuring learning opportunities that combine community health promotion practice and interprofessional learning are discussed.
Keywords
  • health promotion,
  • multidisciplinary collaboration,
  • interprofessional education,
  • university-community partnership
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
DOI
10.1080/02701960.2015.1005290
Publisher Statement
SJSU users: use the following link to login and access the article via SJSU databases.
Citation Information
Sadhna Diwan, Megan Perdue, Sang E. Lee and Brian R. Grossman. "Health Promotion Practice and Interprofessional Education in Aging: Senior Wellness Fairs" Gerontology & Geriatrics Education (2015) ISSN: 0270-1960
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sang-lee/2/