A Systematic Meta‐Analysis of the Effect of Interprofessional Education on Health Professions Students’ Attitudes

Abstract

Interprofessional education (IPE) is based on collaborative practices that increase the occasions for communication among those in various health professions. However, there is a paucity of literature about the effectiveness of IPE programs in health professions education. The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to objectively assess the literature on the effectiveness of IPE in improving health professions students’ attitudes after training. The major scholarly databases were searched for relevant IPE studies involving predoctoral health professions students. Two independent researchers selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of the studies. Meta‐analyses of the outcomes were performed using random effects models. Sixteen articles were ultimately selected for detailed review and meta‐analysis. The meta‐analysis showed that IPE training had a significant influence on students’ understanding of collaboration and resulted in better attitudes about interprofessional teamwork. Subscale analysis showed that one subscale score (roles and responsibilities) did not statistically significantly improve after IPE training (p=0.06), whereas the other four subscale items showed statistically significant improvements (p<0.01). The test for overall effects showed that IPE training had a significantly positive influence on students’ attitudes about IPE (Z=6.85, p<0.01). Subgroup results showed that medical students had more positive attitudes about IPE than did dental students. Regardless of profession, women students responded with significantly more positive feedback than did men students (p=0.02). These results suggest that intervention through IPE training has had positive effects in health professions education. Gender was an important factor impacting the outcomes of IPE. However, further clinical practice interventions may be helpful to enhance the IPE competence of health professions students.

Eleven‐year experience implementing a dental undergraduate research programme in a prestigious dental school in China: Lessons learned and future prospects

“…Interdisciplinary models of scientific research may be more easily translated into community initiatives to enhance health, promote teamwork and collaborative skills and have a significant influence on students’ understanding of collaboration 26,45‐48 . Based on the results in this study, a new model “Dent + X” of research programme, with cooperation between dentistry and other professions, such as engineering, material science and so on, was suggested.…”

Attaining interprofessional competencies by connecting oral health to overall health

“…Many studies use the ICCAS to evaluate the effectiveness of IPE. The ICCAS measures self‐reported competencies that align with the IPEC Competencies: communication, collaboration, roles and responsibilities, collaborative patient/family‐centered approach, conflict management, and team functioning 24,25 . The didactic‐interactive IPE studies reported in Mazur's clinical case study course, 19 Christian's workshop, 9 and Baker and Durham's course, 17 all demonstrated a significant change from pre‐ to post‐test in all ICCAS competency categories.…”

“…A meta‐analysis of IPE training by Wang et al. reported that the overall effect of IPE training was positive (Z = 6.85, P < 0.01), had a significant influence on students’ understanding of collaboration, and resulted in better attitudes about IP teamwork 24 …”

A Report of the interdisciplinary education approach within the Universidad de La Frontera Dental Curriculum

“…The sooner students engage in IPE activities, the more tools they develop to join health teams successfully. Students have been shown to have gained a deeper understanding of the dentist role and the other health workers (Kersbergen et al, 2020) as well as a deeper understanding of collaboration resulting in better attitudes about interprofessional teamwork (Wang et al, 2019). Interprofessional collaborative practice has become widely applied in both public and private sectors as it allows to deliver more effective dental care and better use of resources (Weintraub et al, 2019).…”