Interprofessional education increases knowledge, promotes team building, and changes practice in the care of Parkinson's disease

Abstract Objective Examine outcomes for the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) Allied Team Training for Parkinson (ATTP) , an interprofessional education (IPE) program in Parkinson's disease (PD) and team-based care for medicine, nursing, occupational, physical and music therapies, physician assistant, social work and speech-language pathology disciplines. Background Healthcare professionals need education in evidence-based PD practices and working effectively in teams. Few evidence-based models of IPE in PD exist. Methods Knowledge about PD, team-based care, the role of other disciplines and attitudes towards healthcare teams were measured before and after a protocol-driven training program. Knowledge, attitudes and practice changes were again measured at 6-month post-training. Trainee results were compared to results of controls. Results Twenty-six NPF–ATTP trainings were held across the U.S. (2003–2013). Compared to control participants (n = 100), trainees (n = 1468) showed statistically significant posttest improvement in all major outcomes, including self-perceived (p