Health professions students' attitude, perception, and readiness toward interprofessional education and practice in Oman.

OBJECTIVES

Interactive learning through interprofessional education enhances collaborative practice. This study aims to determine the attitude, perception, and readiness of Omani undergraduate health professions students toward interprofessional education and practice.

METHODS

A total of 327 Omani undergraduates across different health fields participated in this cross-sectional study. Data was gathered via an online-based survey by using two previously validated and reliable tools: 1) the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-revised (SPICE-R2) and 2) the Readiness for Interprofessional Education Scale-modified. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

The overall mean score of the students' attitude and readiness toward interprofessional education was 56.77 (SD = 5.51). The overall mean score of the students' perception toward interprofessional education was 41.42 (SD = 4.56). The overall mean attitude and readiness score and perception score were higher for the pharmacy students than for the rest of the students; however, no statistically significant difference was noted in the scores of attitude and readiness ( > .05), and perception ( > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the study revealed that all the health professionals in Oman, irrespective of the profession, disclosed a favourable attitude, a high state of readiness, and a positive perception toward interprofessional education and practice. Furthermore, all the health professionals considered teamwork and collaboration to be essential for better quality care and practice.