Interprofessional learning in diverse Middle Eastern maternity teams

This study aimed to assess a Middle Eastern maternity team's perceptions and attitudes toward interprofessional education (IPE), examine factors that may influence these perceptions, and consider their potential implications. Within maternity multi-professional teams, IPE is an evidence-based, effective approach toward enhancing collaboration and quality of care. However, multiple factors that modulate the interactions of professionals, with each other and with the context, can influence its success. IPE has not been thoroughly researched in Middle Eastern healthcare settings which have distinct demographic, cultural, and legal characteristics that set them apart from those in the West, and therefore, available evidence may not be readily generalizable to these contexts. Given the paucity of evidence originating from these contexts, the present study was undertaken at a large new Middle Eastern hospital providing tertiary care through a multi-disciplinary maternity team. This study was conducted using a sequential mixed methods approach; an online survey offered to the entire team followed by a mixed focus group discussion. The survey incorporated a psychometric inventory IEPS (Interdisciplinary Education Perception scale) to assess participant perceptions and attitudes. The results showed IEPS scores favoring collaborative learning and that these scores did not differ significantly by participants' length of clinical experience, type of profession, and previous IPE experience. However, scores on the IEPS 'prestige subscale' were significantly lower amongst western-trained participants compared to their non-western-trained colleagues. Qualitative results demonstrated that contextual factors acted as impediments to collaborative learning through changes to individual professional identity, which was impacted differentially within different professions.