A longitudinal study of the effect of an interprofessional education curriculum on student satisfaction and attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and education

There has been limited research on the effect of interprofessional education (IPE) over time on the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students. Previous research in this area has suggested that students from different professions report differing attitudes towards IPE and interprofessional teamwork, and such attitudes may also be influenced by other background characteristics of the students themselves (e.g., gender, age). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal effect of the introduction of an IPE curriculum on students' attitudes towards IPE and teamwork. A time series study design was conducted to assess the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students towards IPE and teamwork, and students were also asked to complete satisfaction surveys after IPE curriculum activities. Significant differences in the attitudes of students from different professions and their satisfaction with participation in IPE were reported over the duration of the study. Overall, student satisfaction with IPE participation was relatively positive; however the introduction of IPE curriculum during their undergraduate education did not appear to have a significant longitudinal effect on attitudes towards IPE or interprofessional teamwork. The findings have implications for the design and integration of IPE curriculum within existing uni-professional curriculum.