INTRODUCTIONAlthough introductory interprofessional education (IPE) experiences offered in a variety of formats can be beneficial to students, there is little research evaluating students' attitudes throughout a sequence of introductory IPE activities. Further, the impact of academic level, gender and race on student attitudes about IPE is not known, particularly when students from a diverse range of health profession programs participate together in introductory IPE experiences.METHODS A sequenced, two-part introductory IPE experience comprising a 90 minute online module followed by a 2-hour faceto-face event was delivered to health science students on three campuses at a large Midwestern university. Student attitudes about IPE based on SPICE-R2 scores were compared before and after the online module and after the in-person event. Paired t-tests were used to determine differences between time points, and linear regression was used to estimate the effects of academic level, gender and race.
RESULTSThe online course had a significant, positive impact on all students' attitudes about IPE with the greatest changes for the Roles subdomain. Improvements in student attitudes about IPE following the online course were retained after the in-person event. Student responses differed between academic levels and genders, but not race.
CONCLUSIONThe initial, online component of the sequenced introductory IPE experience was more impactful on student attitudes about IPE than the subsequent in-person component. Student responses differed between academic levels and genders, suggesting that these factors should be considered when designing introductory IPE experiences for a broad range of participants.