A Mixed Methods Analysis of Student Attitudes in a Graduate Interprofessional Education Population Health Course

Jennifer Taylor Alderman,Meg Zomorodi,Lisa De Saxe Zerden

doi:10.7710/2641-1148.2118

Abstract

BACKGROUND The imperative to increase interprofessional education (IPE) in health professions’ schools has been well-established. While most IPE research has explored the impact of IPE on understanding the perspectives of other professions, this paper contributes to the examination and impact of IPE on one’s own profession. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ attitudes and perceptions of IPE and team collaboration following completion of an interprofessional population health course. METHOD The IPE intervention was a semester-long population health management course wherein students from multiple health professions schools engaged in innovative team collaborations. Embedded measures and course evaluations provided data points for analysis. DISCUSSION The AITCS instrument showed statistically significant improvement overall on most subscales. Qualitative analysis revealed five themes, including recognition of unique perspectives and increased clarity of roles. CONCLUSION Findings support the importance of IPE in improving partnership, cooperation, and coordination among health professionals. Students’ reflections validated quantitative findings and offered optimism about their working relationships with other healthcare professionals.

Highlights

The imperative to increase interprofessional education (IPE) in health professions schools is well-established (Foronda, MacWilliams, & McArthur, 2016)
The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (NCIPE)/Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) (2019) document calls for more quality interprofessional education initiatives to be deliberately designed with clear evaluation metrics identified
While most IPE research has explored the impact of IPE on understanding the perspectives of other professions, this paper contributes to the examination and impact of IPE on one’s own profession

Summary

Introduction

The imperative to increase interprofessional education (IPE) in health professions schools is well-established (Foronda, MacWilliams, & McArthur, 2016). The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) has designed a group of four competencies for IPE Using these competencies as a framework for IPE course development further validates the competencies, as well as adds to the IPE research base. The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ attitudes and perceptions of IPE and team collaboration following completion of a semester-long interprofessional population health course. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ attitudes and perceptions of IPE and team collaboration following completion of an interprofessional population health course While most IPE research has explored the impact of IPE on understanding the perspectives of other professions, this paper contributes to the examination and impact of IPE on one’s own profession.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion