Promoting Design Thinking Through an Interprofessional Education Workshop Focused on Dementia Care

Objective: To describe the design, implementation, and outcomes of a 3-hour virtual interprofessional education (IPE) workshop that applied a design thinking framework to engage students in reimagining models of dementia care.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Methods: Nine health professions programs at the University of the Pacific participated in this workshop.After a 1-hour lecture on the Dutch model of dementia care, interprofessional teams developed their own proposal for an innovative dementia care model.Pre-and post-workshop, students completed the Students Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised Version 2 (SPICE-R2) and the Interprofessional Design Thinking for the Enhancement and Advancement of Dementia Care (IDEA-DC) survey.The post-survey also included the question "How likely are you to apply the knowledge and skills gained today in your future practice?"Results: Four hundred and seventeen students participated in this workshop and 349 completed the surveys.Statistically significant improvements were noted across all domains of the IDEA-DC survey and 9 out of 10 items on the SPICE-R2.More than 85% responded "likely or very likely" to apply the knowledge and skills gained to their future practice.Conclusion: This workshop improved students' self-perceived design thinking abilities and interprofessional attitudes and may serve as a scalable approach for design thinking within IPE curricula.