Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the university of the West England interprofessional questionnaire (UWE-IP) for Turkish health education programs: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy and consistency of the University of the West England Interprofessional Questionnaire (UWE-IP) in Turkish health education settings. The aim was to evaluate its efficacy in gauging interprofessional attitudes among students from diverse healthcare fields.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 391 students from medical, nursing, and home care technician programs who participated in clinical internships. The UWE-IP was utilized to evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale, utilising exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish the internal structure and reliability.

Results: The original four-factor structure of the UWE-IP scale was refined to a three-factor model, encompassing 'communication and teamwork,' 'interprofessional learning,' and a combined 'interprofessional interaction and relationships' factor. This revised structure demonstrated sound reliability and validity y, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. The factor loadings varied between 0.044 and 0.746, demonstrating a strong level of support for the scale's reliability in assessing interprofessional attitudes in the Turkish setting.

Conclusions: The study affirms the validity and reliability of the UWE-IP scale for implementation in Turkish health education, highlighting its significance in assessing and improving interprofessional education. The cultural adaptation of the scale represents an important step forward in evaluating multidisciplinary training results, thereby contributing to improved healthcare services and patient outcomes in Turkey.