Alsharari Thani, Khattak Osama, Agarwal Anshoo, Chaudhary Farooq Ahmad, Suhail Nida, Begum Gulam Saidunnisa, Subramaniam Geetha, Albagami Hathal, Felemban Mohammed Fareed, Shawli Hassan Talat, Algahtani Fahad Saeed, Fareed Muhammad Amber
Department of Restorative Dental Science, Faculty of Dentistry, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Sep 1;12:1665243. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1665243. eCollection 2025.
Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares health professional students for teamwork in clinical practice. The success of IPE depends on students' readiness and acceptance of interprofessional learning. This study aimed to assess the perceptions and readiness for IPE among health professional students across universities in five countries, using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS).
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 335 students from health professional programs at universities in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Nepal, India, and Pakistan. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire was used to collect data prior to any structured workshop activities, and results represent baseline perceptions of IPE. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare groups.
The study found significant differences ( < 0.001) in IPE readiness between students from different countries and academic years. Students from Malaysia, India, and Pakistan demonstrated higher readiness for IPE, with senior students showing greater readiness compared to juniors. The mean readiness score for teamwork and collaboration was 4.2 (SD = 0.7) in Malaysia, while students in Nepal had the lowest mean score of 3.2 (SD = 1.5). Overall, senior students exhibited higher readiness for teamwork and collaboration (mean = 4.3, SD = 0.4) compared to first-year students (mean = 3.6, SD = 1.9).
The findings underscore the need for targeted IPE initiatives that are adapted to different academic levels and contexts. Integrating IPE early in healthcare curricula is critical for enhancing collaborative skills and improving patient outcomes. These results have important implications for curriculum developers and policymakers aiming to foster interprofessional collaboration in healthcare education.
跨专业教育（IPE）使健康专业学生为临床实践中的团队合作做好准备。IPE的成功取决于学生对跨专业学习的准备程度和接受程度。本研究旨在使用跨专业学习准备量表（RIPLS）评估五个国家各大学健康专业学生对IPE的认知和准备情况。
对沙特阿拉伯、马来西亚、尼泊尔、印度和巴基斯坦各大学健康专业项目的335名学生进行了横断面描述性研究。在任何结构化工作坊活动之前，使用跨专业学习准备量表（RIPLS）问卷收集数据，结果代表了对IPE的基线认知。使用描述性统计、配对样本t检验和方差分析（ANOVA）对回答进行分析，以比较各组。
研究发现，来自不同国家和学年的学生在IPE准备程度上存在显著差异（<0.001）。来自马来西亚、印度和巴基斯坦的学生对IPE的准备程度更高，高年级学生比低年级学生表现出更高的准备程度。马来西亚团队合作与协作的平均准备得分是4.2（标准差=0.7），而尼泊尔学生的平均得分最低，为3.2（标准差=1.5）。总体而言，与一年级学生（平均=3.6，标准差=1.9）相比，高年级学生在团队合作与协作方面表现出更高的准备程度（平均=4.3，标准差=0.4）。
研究结果强调了需要开展有针对性的IPE举措，以适应不同的学术水平和背景。在医疗保健课程中尽早融入IPE对于提高协作技能和改善患者治疗效果至关重要。这些结果对旨在促进医疗保健教育中跨专业协作的课程开发者和政策制定者具有重要意义。
