Participants in the Interprofessional Education activity around vaccination organised by QU Health.
Doha: The Interprofessional Education (IPE) office at Qatar University Health (QU Health) recently organised an IPE activity event concerned with vaccination for health profession students.
The event aimed to explain the principle of vaccines and herd immunity, and describe evidence-based vaccine cost-effectiveness and burden of disease.
It also outlined current licensed vaccines in Qatar and immunisation schedules, to address vaccine hesitancy and safety, as well as to discuss controversial issues related to vaccine perceptions or misconceptions.
The activity saw the participation of 216 students from different health programmes, including pharmacy, medicine, public health, physical therapy and biomedical sciences at QU, in addition to nursing students from the University of Calgary in Qatar.
Dr. Susu Zughaier, Associate Professor at QU College of Medicine (CMED) and the lead facilitator of the activity, gave an introductory talk. Students were introduced to a case-based discussion about a 67-year old woman with diabetes who rejected receiving the pneumococcal vaccination as a result of being influenced by social media rumours.
Students discussed the importance of vaccination from different health profession perspectives, in addition to an explanation of herd immunity, vaccine coverage, types of vaccines and adverse events related to vaccine administration. They also addressed vaccine hesitancy, its causes and how to overcome it. Finally, students reflected what they learned about the role of other health professionals while working together on this case.
Dr. Zughaier said, “Vaccines are the best public health strategy that protects the community. Implementing vaccination effectively requires collaboration between various sectors. Therefore, bringing students from various health professions to learn together about vaccines, vaccine preventable infections and vaccine hesitancy is crucial for future health professionals’ awareness.”
Moza Saad Al Kuwari, a fourth year public health student from QU’s College of Health Sciences, said, “The Interprofessional Education experience demonstrated the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This IPE activity supported us in developing our interprofessional communication abilities and our comprehension of the topic from many professional perspectives.”
Talking about her experience, Fatima Mohammed Al Jassim, also a fourth year public health student, commented, “Being a part of the IPE session was a wonderful experience because it clearly outlined the roles and responsibilities of each health profession. This perception clarified my responsibilities as a public health profession student and showed other professions that public health knowledge is a prerequisite for success in the healthcare field.”
QU Health is committed to integrating IPE experiences into the different health care curricula with a vision to be regionally recognised for excellence in interprofessional health education. IPE is not simply bringing students from different health care professions together, but an opportunity for health care students to learn with, from and about each other.
