Examining the Impact of a Behavioral Health Workforce Development Program upon MSW Students' Interprofessional and Behavioral Health Skills and Competencies

Background/Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration is a fundamental aspect of social work practice, particularly in the context of physical and behavioral health care. Yet, many social work programs do not explicitly teach interprofessional practice skills, leaving students at a loss post-graduation. Behavioral health workforce development programs were created to fill this gap aiming to equip students with necessary skills for interprofessional practice in behavioral health care in medically-underserved areas with diverse populations. Due to the dynamic nature of these programs, few long-term studies have measured the skills gained through these trainings or the ability to transfer these skills into employment. The purpose of this study was to examine the skills acquired by MSW students through participating in a year-long behavioral health workforce development program.

Methods: This study used a one-group pre- post-test design with the third cohort of second-year MSW students in the behavioral health training program (N=46). The study used four self-reported, 5-point Likert scale surveys, administered at the beginning of the academic year and at the program’s completion. The instruments used were the 20-item Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS), measuring five domains of interprofessional competencies (communication, collaboration, roles and responsibility, conflict management and resolution, and team functioning), the 14-item Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale, which measures attitudes towards interprofessional health care teams, the 17-item Team Skills Scale which measures communication, collaboration, and conflict management abilities, and the 15-item Behavioral Health Skills Scale, measuring the application of behavioral health skills. Paired t-tests were used to examine pre- and post-test scores.

Results: The 46 students participating in the program’s third cohort had a mean age of 37 years, identified as mostly female and primarily white non-Hispanic. The paired t-test results showed significant increases in all scales. The ICCAS pretest scores were (M=3.97, SD=0.822), and the posttest scores were (M=4.45; SD=0.591), t(46)=4.351, p<.01. The effect sizes were 0.586 (Cohen’s d) and 0.578 (Hedges’ correction). The Attitudes toward Health Care Teams Scale pretest scores were (M=4.22; SD=0.812), and the posttest scores were (M=4.25; SD=0.862), t(46)=1.42, p<0.1. The effect sizes were 0.210 (Cohen’s d) and 0.206 (Hedges’ correction. The Team Skills Scale pretest scores were (M=3.845; SD=0.850) and posttest scores were (M= 4.332; SD=0.686), t(46) = 3.90, p<.01. The effect sizes were 0.576 (Cohen’s d) and 0.569 (Hedges’ correction). The Behavioral Health Skills Scale pretest scores were (M=3.89; SD=0.951) and posttest scores were (M=4.45; SD=0.68), t(46)=3.73, p.<.005. The effect sizes were 1.01 (Cohen’s d) and 1.02 (Hedges’ correction).

Conclusions and Implications: Results from this study demonstrate how behavioral health workforce programs impactfully equip MSW students with the attitudes and skills necessary for working on interprofessional teams. All scales showed statistically significant improvements, especially in collaboration, team skills, and behavioral health skills, which were reinforced by the effect sizes indicating a significant impact. These findings underscore a cohort of MSW students more adequately prepared to work interprofessionally and collaboratively in the field post-graduation, especially with clients who live in medically underserved areas or areas with high professional shortages to address behavioral health needs.