Changes in Student Attitudes toward Interprofessional Education after Online and In-Person Introductory Learning Activities

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Although 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 face-to-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. RESULTS The online course had a significant, positive impact on all students’ attitudes about IPE with the greatest changes for the Roles subdomain.