Building Bridges: A European Perspective on Interprofessional Education, Practice, Policy and Research

This book builds bridges across hitherto siloed work in the vibrant field of interprofessional science. With a focus on the European continent, conceptual and empirical endeavours in interprofessional education, practice, research, and policy are sutured together in a unique and timely book. Contributors from across Europe, academicians and clinicians in equal merit, tackle the most pressing and exciting issues in what is to become a landmark moment in this young field of science.

The book is structured over 15 chapters, each serving a distinct conceptual and practical purpose. Initially, the editors position the book in contemporary debates, making the case for its significance and need at this point in time. They seek out developments across education, practice, research, and policy silos, and call for a unified model of interprofessional care that is fit to drive the next generation of European initiatives. The chapters that follow each have a specific, complementary but distinct focus on the issues that challenge and excite the field; from practical developments, to cutting-edge innovations, and forward-looking concerns. Key threads from each chapter are revisited in the book's epilogue, sketching out lessons learned and developing a roadmap to guide future developments.

This book is itself a bridging project; a driver and a device through which to foster a stronger community of interprofessional champions: health and social care professionals, educators, researchers, and policy makers. Champions that can challenge the status quo and bring about the radical changes needed in health professions education, practice, research, and policy; in Europe and beyond.

Dr Andreas Xyrichis is a Reader in Interprofessional Science at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London. An intensive care nurse by background, he researches interprofessional practice-based interventions for quality, safety, and equity, working with collaborators across and beyond Europe. Andreas is a Trustee of the UK Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE), co-founder of the European Academy for Interprofessional Science, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Interprofessional Care, the leading international journal in interprofessional science.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Dr Maria Kvarnström is Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at the Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences at Linköping University, which has the longest European tradition of interprofessional education at a faculty of medicine. She is a member of the strategic area for interprofessional learning and collaboration at the medical faculty at Linköping University, a member of the board of the Nordic Interprofessional network and co-founder of the Swedish network for iPE. She is a biomedical laboratory scientist by profession, an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care, and a co-founder of the European Academy for Interprofessional Science.

Prof Dr Marion Huber is the Head of the Centre of Interprofessional Learning and Practice at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Health Sciences, and leads the research group of interprofessionalism. She is a qualified physiotherapist, psychologist, and neuroscientist and is responsible for the evaluation of the Zurich interprofessional clinical training wards - ZIPAS. She is a co-founder of the European Academy for Interprofessional Science and is the 2026 Chair of Interprofessional.Global (IP.G) - the Global Confederation for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice - and the International Society of Interprofessional Health Care (IP-Health).

Prof Dr Cornelia Mahler is the director of the Department of Nursing Science at the Medical Faculty, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany and dean of studies of the Bachelor's Nursing Programme. In 2011, she developed and implemented a bachelor's degree in Interprofessional Health Care at the Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Germany and led the development of interprofessional education and research there. She co-led and co-founded the interprofessional working group within the German Association for Medical Education and has extensive experience in the translation and validation of instruments for research and evaluation in IPE and IPC. She is a nurse by background, co-founder of the European Academy for Interprofessional Science, and serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care.