Nawagi Faith, Vyas Rashmi, Kiguli Malwadde Elsie, Yuan Shiyao, Bedoll Deborah, Adejumo Prisca Olabisi, Phimister Rory, Drendall Julie, Seeling Justin, Suleman Fatima
FAIMER, A Division of Intealth, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST), Kampala, Uganda.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Mar 10;12:1516156. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1516156. eCollection 2025.
While some African health professions institutions have advanced in integrating Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) into their curricula, many still struggle with traditional, siloed training. To address this gap, the African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth), partnering with FAIMER, a division of Intealth, developed the AFREhealth-FAIMER IPECP Student Elective Exchange Program (IPECP Program). This study assessed the IPECP competencies of participating students and gathered stakeholder perspectives on the IPECP Program.
The 2018 revised Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS), containing 21 items, was used to assess student participants' IPECP competencies before and after participating in the IPECP Program. Paired sample T-tests were run to examine if there was a significant improvement in IPECP competencies after students participated in the program, on both the total and item score levels. The study also administered online surveys to collect feedback from faculty and managers of the IPECP Program on its design, implementation, benefits, and challenges.
Students reported a significant improvement in IPECP competencies after participating in the program, with the mean ICCAS total score rising from 79.27 (±12.24) pre-training to 85.63 (±8.75) post-training ((179) = 7.48, < 0.005). All faculty participants (100%, = 18) indicated that country-specific case studies facilitated teaching IPECP skills through virtual delivery. Additionally, 6 out of 18 program managers noted that this program marked their institution's first engagement in virtual IPECP electives. All faculty ( = 18) and managers ( = 10) who responded to the survey thought the IPECP program enhanced regional collaborations and global exposure and equipped the students with cross-country IPECP skills. Internet connectivity was a cross-cutting challenge among faculty and managers given the virtual nature of the program.
The student participants of the IPECP Program self-reported enhanced IPECP competencies, fostering an understanding of the various population health issues in multiple African countries. The findings suggest that faculty-guided, country-specific case studies may offer a viable strategy for implementing IPECP during international electives using a virtual mode of delivery.
虽然一些非洲卫生专业机构在将跨专业教育与协作实践（IPECP）纳入课程方面取得了进展，但许多机构仍在传统的、孤立的培训模式中挣扎。为了弥补这一差距，非洲卫生研究与教育论坛（AFREhealth）与Intealth旗下的FAIMER合作，开发了AFREhealth-FAIMER IPECP学生选修交流项目（IPECP项目）。本研究评估了参与学生的IPECP能力，并收集了利益相关者对IPECP项目的看法。
采用2018年修订的包含21个条目的跨专业协作能力达成量表（ICCAS），在参与IPECP项目前后评估学生参与者的IPECP能力。进行配对样本T检验，以检查学生参与该项目后，在总分和项目得分水平上IPECP能力是否有显著提高。该研究还进行了在线调查，以收集IPECP项目的教师和管理人员对其设计、实施、益处和挑战的反馈。
学生报告称参与该项目后IPECP能力有显著提高，ICCAS总分均值从培训前的79.27（±12.24）提高到培训后的85.63（±8.75）（t（179）=7.48，p<0.005）。所有教师参与者（100%，n=18）表示，针对特定国家的案例研究有助于通过虚拟授课方式教授IPECP技能。此外，18名项目经理中有6人指出，该项目标志着他们的机构首次参与虚拟IPECP选修课程。所有回复调查的教师（n=18）和管理人员（n=10）都认为IPECP项目加强了区域合作和全球视野，并使学生具备了跨国IPECP技能。鉴于该项目的虚拟性质，网络连接是教师和管理人员面临的一个共同挑战。
IPECP项目的学生参与者自我报告称其IPECP能力有所提高，促进了对多个非洲国家各种人群健康问题的理解。研究结果表明，在国际选修课程中，由教师指导的、针对特定国家的案例研究可能是一种通过虚拟授课方式实施IPECP的可行策略。
