Attitudes toward interprofessional education and collaborative practices in Mongolia

Abstract

From the perspective of activity theory, it can be argued that the major challenge in relation to implementing interprofessional education (IPE) could be embraced as contradictions that may lead to change. Patients have complex health needs and typically require insight from more than one discipline to address issues regarding their health status (Lumague et al. 2006). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that institutions engaged in health professional education and training consider implementing IPE in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs (WHO, 2010). The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of IPECP for health care professionals, faculty members, and students. Methods: The survey instrument contained four scales to evaluate faculty attitudes toward IPE and teamwork, adapted from the methods of Curran et al. (2007). Each scale asked respondents to rate their attitudes toward statements on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 2=disagree; 3=neutral; 4=agree; 5=strongly agree). The initial factor extractions were performed by means of principal components analysis. To define the model structure more clearly, an exploratory factor analysis using varimax rotation was conducted. The level of significance was p<.0001 for all tests. Results: As shown in Table 2, the Kaiser–Meyer-Olkin index was 0.902, indicating sampling adequacy, and the Bartlett Sphericity Chi-Square index was 2246.5 (p <0.0001). Cronbach’s alpha for the 14 items was 0.731, revealing a high rate of internal consistency. The modified Attitude toward health care team scores (ATHCTS) questionnaire was categorized into four factors: “Quality of care,” “Team efficiency,” “Patient-centered care,” and “Negative factors.” Conclusion: Findings suggest that the positive attitude of health care professionals, faculty members and students towards IPE indicates the need for IPE training.