Implementation barriers to interprofessional education: an analysis of the Educação pelo Trabalho para a Saúde Program (PET-Saúde)

Abstract

This study analyzes the barriers undergraduate health courses participating in the Educação pelo Trabalho para a Saúde (PET-Saúde), in Rio de Janeiro, face to implement interprofessional education. An exploratory and qualitative case study was conducted with 32 participants from PET-Saúde, a program that promotes curricular changes in undergraduate health courses. Data were collected in 2020 by means of individual interviews. Thematic analysis of the data identified sociopolitical, institutional, and relational barriers. Degradation of the health system and the regional violence hindering healthcare activities were the main sociopolitical barriers. In turn, institutional barriers included curriculum rigidity, university administrator turnover, and lack of evaluation methods for innovative interprofessional education. As for relational barriers, professional silos hindering collaborative efforts, top-down power hierarchies resistant to feedback, and unsatisfactory communications among stakeholders were the main complaints. Overcoming these barriers requires intersectoral public policies, greater integration among professionals, healthcare, and education systems, and recognizing that interprofessional education can improve public health, reduce healthcare costs, and ensure professional satisfaction and work safety.