Darlow B1, Brown M1, Gallagher P2, Gray L1, McKinlay E1, Purdie G3, Wilson C1, Pullon S1
1University of Otago, Primary Health Care and General Practice, Wellington, New Zealand, 2University of Otago, Education Unit, Wellington, New Zealand, 3University of Otago, Dean's Department, Wellington, New Zealand
Background: Short-term evaluations of pre-registration interprofessional education (IPE) have found improvements in learners' collaborative skills and attitudes. Few studies have explored: i) the impact of pre-registration IPE using experimental designs; ii) the maintenance over-time of changes observed; iii) the development of collaborative skills and attitudes across the early years of professional practice; or iv) whether collaborative skills and attitudes influence career trajectories and satisfaction. The five-year Longitudinal Interprofessional (LIP) Study was designed to explore these knowledge gaps by comparing outcomes for learners who did and did not participate in the New Zealand-based Tairāwhiti Interprofessional Education (TIPE) programme. The TIPE programme is a five-week clinically-based immersive, intentional interprofessional learning experience offered to some health students during the final year of their pre-registration training. The study has five annual data collection points.
Purpose: The primary aim of this analysis was to explore whether participation in the TIPE programme influenced attitudes to interprofessional teams, teamwork abilities, professional setting and location, or vocational satisfaction one-year post-graduation.
Methods: This is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal study of students from eight health care disciplines (dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, oral health, pharmacy and physiotherapy); 131 who participated in the TIPE programme and 481 who did not. Participants were recruited prior to commencing their final year of pre-registration training. Baseline measures included the Attitudes to Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS), the Team Skills Scale (TSS) and demographic information. Participants repeated the ATHCTS and TSS at graduation and at the end of their first post-graduate year, when they also reported professional setting (primary care, hospital, education, other), location (major city, regional city, small town, very small town/rural, overseas, other) and vocational satisfaction. Mixed model analysis of covariance (adjusted for discipline, baseline demographics, ATHCTS and TSS) compared ATHCTS and TSS scores and vocational satisfaction ratings between those who did and did not attend TIPE. Professional setting and location data were compared between those who did and did not attend TIPE with mixed-model logistic regression.
Results: At graduation, participants who attended the TIPE programme had significantly higher ATHCTS scores (mean difference 1.9; 95%CI 0.8 to 3.0, p=0.0008) and TSS scores (mean difference 3.5; 95%CI 1.5 to 5.6; p=0.0008) but there were no differences in practice setting intentions. Data collected one year post-graduation are currently being analysed. We will present adjusted mean differences in ATHCTS and TSS scores, professional setting and location, and vocational satisfaction between those who participated in the TIPE programme and their peers who did not. Data collection will continue until December 2019.
Conclusion(s): The development of interprofessional competencies during pre-registration training is important to prepare graduates to work within collaborative health care teams. This study has demonstrated the effect of an immersive, intentional final-year interprofessional programme on graduates' attitudes to health care teams, self-perceived teamwork skills, and early career trajectories and satisfaction. Future data collection will explore ongoing changes in these measures over the graduates' first three years of clinical practice.
Implications: An intentional final-year IPE programme can improve collaborative attitudes and skills and help prepare graduates to contribute to collaborative health care teams.
Keywords: Interprofessional education, Longitudinal study, Health sciences students
Funding acknowledgements: This study is supported by a grant from the University of Otago Division of Health Sciences
Purpose: The primary aim of this analysis was to explore whether participation in the TIPE programme influenced attitudes to interprofessional teams, teamwork abilities, professional setting and location, or vocational satisfaction one-year post-graduation.
Methods: This is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal study of students from eight health care disciplines (dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, oral health, pharmacy and physiotherapy); 131 who participated in the TIPE programme and 481 who did not. Participants were recruited prior to commencing their final year of pre-registration training. Baseline measures included the Attitudes to Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS), the Team Skills Scale (TSS) and demographic information. Participants repeated the ATHCTS and TSS at graduation and at the end of their first post-graduate year, when they also reported professional setting (primary care, hospital, education, other), location (major city, regional city, small town, very small town/rural, overseas, other) and vocational satisfaction. Mixed model analysis of covariance (adjusted for discipline, baseline demographics, ATHCTS and TSS) compared ATHCTS and TSS scores and vocational satisfaction ratings between those who did and did not attend TIPE. Professional setting and location data were compared between those who did and did not attend TIPE with mixed-model logistic regression.
Results: At graduation, participants who attended the TIPE programme had significantly higher ATHCTS scores (mean difference 1.9; 95%CI 0.8 to 3.0, p=0.0008) and TSS scores (mean difference 3.5; 95%CI 1.5 to 5.6; p=0.0008) but there were no differences in practice setting intentions. Data collected one year post-graduation are currently being analysed. We will present adjusted mean differences in ATHCTS and TSS scores, professional setting and location, and vocational satisfaction between those who participated in the TIPE programme and their peers who did not. Data collection will continue until December 2019.
Conclusion(s): The development of interprofessional competencies during pre-registration training is important to prepare graduates to work within collaborative health care teams. This study has demonstrated the effect of an immersive, intentional final-year interprofessional programme on graduates' attitudes to health care teams, self-perceived teamwork skills, and early career trajectories and satisfaction. Future data collection will explore ongoing changes in these measures over the graduates' first three years of clinical practice.
Implications: An intentional final-year IPE programme can improve collaborative attitudes and skills and help prepare graduates to contribute to collaborative health care teams.
Keywords: Interprofessional education, Longitudinal study, Health sciences students
Funding acknowledgements: This study is supported by a grant from the University of Otago Division of Health Sciences
Topic: Education; Primary health care
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: University of Otago
Ethics committee: Human Ethics Committee
Ethics number: D13/019
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
