A Mixed Methods Analysis of Student Attitudes in a Graduate Interprofessional Education Population Health Course

BACKGROUND The imperative to increase interprofessional education (IPE) in health professions’ schools has been well-established. While most IPE research has explored the impact of IPE on understanding the perspectives of other professions, this paper contributes to the examination and impact of IPE on one’s own profession. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine graduate students’ attitudes and perceptions of IPE and team collaboration following completion of an interprofessional population health course. METHOD The IPE intervention was a semester-long population health management course wherein students from multiple health professions schools engaged in innovative team collaborations. Embedded measures and course evaluations provided data points for analysis. DISCUSSION The AITCS instrument showed statistically significant improvement overall on most subscales. Qualitative analysis revealed five themes, including recognition of unique perspectives and increased clarity of roles. CONCLUSION Findings support the importance of IPE in improving partnership, cooperation, and coordination among health professionals. Students’ reflections validated quantitative findings and offered optimism about their working relationships with other healthcare professionals.