Perceptions and attitudes of different healthcare professionals and students toward interprofessional education in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey

Perceptions of students and faculty on NCAAA-accredited health informatics programs in Saudi Arabia: an evaluative study

BACKGROUND

As the healthcare sector becomes increasingly reliant on technology, it is crucial for universities to offer bachelor's degrees in health informatics (HI). HI professionals bridge the gap between IT and healthcare, ensuring that technology complements patient care and clinical workflows; they promote enhanced patient outcomes, support clinical research, and uphold data security and privacy standards. This study aims to evaluate accredited HI academic programs in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

This study employed a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional design utilising a self-reported electronic questionnaire consisting of predetermined items and response alternatives. Probability-stratified random sampling was also performed.

RESULT

The responses rates were 39% (n = 241) for students and 62% (n = 53) for faculty members. While the participants expressed different opinions regarding the eight variables being examined, the faculty members and students generally exhibited a strong level of consensus on many variables. A notable association was observed between facilities and various other characteristics, including student engagement, research activities, admission processes, and curriculum. Similarly, a notable correlation exists between student engagement and the curriculum in connection to research, attrition, the function of faculty members, and academic outcomes.

CONCLUSION

While faculty members and students hold similar views about the institution and its offerings, certain areas of divergence highlight the distinct perspectives and priorities of each group. The perception disparity between students and faculty in areas such as admission, faculty roles, and internships sheds light on areas of improvement and alignment for universities.

Nurse practitioner faculty attitudes about interprofessional education

BACKGROUND

Nurse practitioner (NP) faculty attitudes toward interprofessional education (IPE) can be barriers to the shift in culture and successful implementation of IPE into nursing curricula. A paucity of studies exist comparing faculty attitudes of IPE with different educational modalities.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this research is to compare NP faculty attitudes toward IPE between IPE experiences and educational modalities in NP academic programs.

METHODOLOGY

A quantitative cross-sectional comparative design was used. An electronic survey was advertised to approximately 3,000 members of the National Organization of NP Faculties by email blasts to assess their attitudes toward IPE in the academic setting.

RESULTS

Participating NP faculty (n = 208) completed the survey, with a response rate of 6.9%. The results showed that NP faculty reported positive attitudes toward IPE (M = 4.33). Nurse practitioner faculty attitudes toward IPE and participation in IPE experiences were not statistically significant (p = .126). Nurse practitioner faculty attitudes toward IPE did not differ with the educational modality. The main effect of the NP degree program educational modality was not statistically significant, F(2, 172) = 0.74, p = .479.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse practitioner faculty are optimistic about IPE in multiple educational modalities but still have some reservations about how to implement IPE activities successfully.

IMPLICATIONS

The NP faculty attitudes and barriers to IPE curricular development in all educational modalities must be addressed to prepare NP students to be competent collaborative practice-ready providers on graduation.

Nursing students' interprofessional socialisation and readiness for interprofessional learning: A cross-sectional research study

BACKGROUND

Interprofessional education programs in university settings have facilitated the development of student attributes needed to become a team-player, understand roles and responsibilities of other health disciplines, and acquire knowledge to deliver patient-centred care. Although the benefits of interprofessional education are widely acknowledged, there is limited research on interprofessional socialisation within university contexts.

OBJECTIVES

To examine readiness of undergraduate nursing students for interprofessional learning and interprofessional socialisation.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design was used to examine the correlation between interprofessional learning and socialisation, and group differences between mode of study, year level, and prior healthcare experience.

SETTING

A large Australian regional university, across two campuses.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 103 undergraduate nursing students across year levels, including 58 enrolled on-campus, and 45 studying externally.

METHOD

Students completed an online survey using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and the Interprofessional Socialisation and Valuing Scale. Data analyses included independent t-tests, and a one-way between subjects ANOVA.

RESULTS

No significant differences in student readiness for interprofessional learning or interprofessional socialisation were found between on-campus and external modes of study and between healthcare experience and no prior healthcare experience. Participants with previous healthcare experience had significantly higher scores for interprofessional socialisation than those with no previous healthcare experience.

CONCLUSIONS

Readiness for interprofessional learning and interprofessional socialisation and were not impacted by the students' mode of study; however, previous experience in the healthcare industry and duration of study significantly improved interprofessional socialisation skills. As nursing students advance through their study, they may experience interprofessional education opportunities that influence their perceived socialisation skills.

Attitude of family medicine residents toward team-based care in primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Team-based care (TBC) is becoming the standard method of delivering primary care services in Saudi Arabia. Family medicine residents are considered the future leaders who will apply the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) strategic transformation plans in practice. The aim of this study was to assess the attitude of family medicine residents toward TBC and the factors associated with their current attitudes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and April 2022. The study targeted all Family Medicine residents rotating in primary healthcare centers of the Saudi MOH. A web-based survey was built using a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Health-Care Teams Scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Mann-Whitney U test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to compare mean attitude scores between various study variables.

RESULTS

The overall mean attitude score was 2.71; the mean scores for attitudes toward team value, team efficiency, and physicians shared role were 3.94, 2.47, and 1.71, respectively. The residents who had received TBC training had significantly higher mean scores for attitudes toward team value subscale compared to those who had no training (4.09 vs. 3.87, P = 0.038). Similarly, the mean score for same attitude subscale was significantly higher among those who practice TBC compared to those who do not (4.08 vs. 3.85, P = 0.038).

CONCLUSION

The residents exhibited an overall positive attitude, especially toward team value; however, their understanding of physicians' shared role in the team should be improved by training and practice with role models.

Exploring the opportunities and challenges to implementing interprofessional education in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study among faculty

Interprofessional education (IPE) has potential benefits for improving the quality of patient care, but its implementation is challenged with multiple barriers. The primary objectives of this study were to explore the challenges, benefits, and incentives to establishing IPE from the perspective of healthcare faculty at King Saud University. Forty-five faculty members attended six focus groups, each consisting of 6-8 faculty members representing the five colleges. The focus group interview guide included the benefits of and barriers to establishing IPE in this academic institution, curricular design, and the feasibility of support from the colleges and University administration. A SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Challenges) frame work was utilized to guide the focus group discussions, and the data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged and were related to (i) barriers, (ii) benefits, (iii) opportunities to facilitate the introduction of IPE, and (iv) suggestions on how to implement IPE and overcome challenges to establish an IPE curriculum. Participants were generally supportive of IPE and aware of the constraints that might impede its implementation. Moreover, they identified potential barriers and incentives to promote IPE. Although participants appreciated the long-term benefits of IPE, creating a supportive environment will require the involvement of the academic community, including students, faculty members, and the University's top management.

Knowledge and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Among Pharmacy and Clinical Nutrition Students at King Saud University

Background

Interprofessional education (IPE) in healthcare specialties is important to optimize patient outcomes and shape professional image toward teamwork and collaboration among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of IPE on pharmacy and clinical nutrition students’ knowledge in food–drug interactions and readiness for interprofessional learning.

Methods

This pre-post study was conducted at King Saud University between February and March 2020. We held an interprofessional workshop for pharmacy and clinical nutrition students. After we introduced the faculty members who would deliver the food–drug interactions session, the students took a seven-question quiz (total score = 7) to assess their knowledge about the basic concept of food–drug interactions before the session. After that, a 45-minute lecture was provided by a clinical pharmacy faculty member. Students from both disciplines worked on three clinical scenarios. After completing the assigned scenarios, the students retook the quiz to assess their knowledge after the workshop. In addition, student readiness was assessed using the 19-item Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS).

Results

A total of 48 students were included in this study. Overall, students’ mean scores in both colleges significantly increased after the workshop (p < 0.01). The mean RIPLS total scores (SD) for pharmacy students and clinical nutrition students were 80.6 (7.48) and 81.26 (6.96), respectively, out of a maximum possible score of 95. These scores indicated positive attitudes toward interprofessional learning in both groups.

Conclusion

Pharmacy and clinical nutrition students’ knowledge regarding food–drug interaction improved after implementing the IPE session. Students also reported higher scores for interprofessional learning. This indicates their willingness to participate in future interprofessional learning activities. Roles and responsibilities domain scores were slightly lower among both groups. Simulation-based activities including profession role exchange can be added to traditional IPE sessions to improve this domain.

The short version of students' perceptions of interprofessional clinical education-revised (SPICE-R3): a confirmatory factor analysis

The Students' Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education and its revision (SPICE, SPICE-R) were designed to understand medicine and pharmacy students' perceptions of interprofessional education and collaborative practice in managing complex health problems. The SPICE-R authors, however, suggested for additional items for subscales "roles and responsibilities for collaborative care" and "patient outcomes from collaborative practice". We added two items and introduced SPICE-R3 to differentiate it from the 10-item SPICE-R2 and to adapt the scale to a wider range of healthcare members. We administered the SPICE-R3 to healthcare students at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong in February 2020. Using data from 225 students from Chinese medicine, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy, confirmatory factor analysis indicated nine items having acceptable item coefficients. Our data obtained a good fit to the three-factor, nine-item model suggesting construct validity. Results of the between-network analysis suggest that the three subscales of SPICE-R3 correlated systematically with other theoretically relevant variables in the nomological network suggesting convergent validity. The SPICE-R3 is a valid measure to examine Hong Kong healthcare students' interprofessional attitudes in online interprofessional education even during the pandemic. Implications and directions for future research are provided.