Interprofessional education at a Brazilian public university: A document analysis

Effectiveness of online interprofessional education-communication course during the COVID-19 pandemic

A developed IPE (Interprofessional Education)-communication course was first implemented at Universitas Pelita Harapan/UPH via online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of a newly developed IPE-online communication course offered to medical (MS) and nursing (NS) students. This study was a quantitative study using a pre-post design without control. The IPAS (Interprofessional Attitude Scale) assessed students' attitudes toward IPE. Satisfaction with the program was also measured following its completion. The questionnaire was administered via Survey Monkey to 535 respondents (MS = 250; NS = 285). Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were employed. Before and after the IPE program, 161 MS and 146 NS completed the IPAS questionnaire (n = 307). The attitude of MS and NS were not improved significantly (p-value >0.05). Moreover, several subscales of attitudes decreased significantly, including "Diversity and Ethics" with a low-size effect for medical students and "Teamwork, Roles, and Responsibilities" and "Patient-Centeredness" with a low-size effect for nursing students. Both students (n = 307) were also satisfied with the IPE course (Mean MS: 4.28 and NS: 4.34). This study suggests that online IPE communication course may not be effective in fostering student attitudes. The IPE communication course should be accomplished through in-person class instead of online learning. Further IPE course evaluations are required to improve the acceptability, applicability, and effectiveness of IPE in health education.

Characterization of interprofessional education experiences in health education at the University of São Paulo

OBJECTIVE

To map the experiences of Interprofessional Education (IPE) in Health at the São Paulo campus of the University of São Paulo.

METHOD

This is a descriptive, exploratory study with a quantitative approach and data collection through an online questionnaire addressed to teachers from eight teaching units and 14 health courses. The data was analyzed using absolute and percentage frequencies.

RESULTS

The majority of teachers do not take part in IPE experiences (70.4%). Most of the experiences are between six and ten years old, involving up to four teachers and small groups of students, mostly extracurricular or extension activities. The teaching and assessment strategies are diverse and open to students of all years.

CONCLUSION

IPE experiences involve a small number of students and teachers and, although consolidated in terms of the time they have been offered, are limited to extracurricular spaces. Factors such as improvements in institutional support and teacher development are pointed out as important for making progress in strengthening IPE in the analyzed context.