Abstract
BACKGROUND Critical healthcare issues are impacting society. Interprofessional learning must be designed to match this complexity. PURPOSE We designed and implement multiple interprofessional learning activities to address serious topics in health care to determine if learning experiences founded on critical health issues resulted in increased knowledge among the interprofessional team of learners. METHOD This was an observational, cross-sectional cohort study. Participants were students enrolled in health science and medical programs at a university in the Midwest U.S. Learning activities consisted of journal club, Pain C.A.R.E., poverty simulation, or Strategies for Health. RESULTS Outcomes for student learning indicated strong agreement on teamwork variables. Faculty involvement sustained the implementation of interprofessional learning experiences. CONCLUSION Addressing social determinants of health as the learning content of an interprofessional learning activity was an effective method for increasing students’ confidence and comfort within an interdisciplinary team.