Attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration in young healthcare professionals

Successful interprofessional (IP) collaboration has great potential to improve healthcare delivery. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the attitudes towards IP collaboration in young health professionals who had not been exposed to IP learning activities. About one year after graduation from their vocational training, 387 graduates from various healthcare professions [Nurses (nursing and pediatric nursing), Therapists (physical therapy, speech and language therapy), Diagnostic professionals (biomedical science and radiography)], were invited to participate in an online survey. In total, data from 129 graduates were considered for data analyses. The University of Western England Interprofessional Questionnaire was administered to self-assess graduates individual attitude towards IP collaboration and learning using four scales. All health professional groups showed an overall positive attitude in communication and teamwork as well as in IP relationships and expressed a neutral attitude in IP learning and IP interactions. There were no significant differences in the overall scores between the health professional groups. In total, the three health professional groups showed similar attitudes towards IP collaboration and learning, despite their different scope of work. Results may help to design IP learning activities and this may contribute to better communication with and to know more about each other.