Preparing allied health professional students to work collaboratively with families of young children (0-8 years): a scoping review

Collaborative working with families has positive impacts on outcomes for families and children. However, implementing a collaborative approach requires allied health professionals to have knowledge, skills, experience, and confidence in working with families. This scoping review aimed to explore teaching practices used in order to prepare allied health profession students to work collaboratively with families of children under the age of 8 years. Eight studies were identified: these studies captured different teaching and learning methods which included both a component of classroom-based instruction covering theory and a form of skill development practice. Experiential outcomes for students were reported to be positive. Results highlight the need for the design of new, reflexive learning opportunities for allied health profession students which prepare them to collaborate with families in early intervention. Effective learning using role-play and simulation should be explored as a priority considering the identified shortages of clinical placements for students internationally.