Impacts of interprofessional education on collaborative practice of healthcare professionals: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and statistically synthesise data on the effects of interprofessional education on healthcare professionals' collaborative practice among healthcare professionals.

DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES: Seven databases and the grey literature were searched to collect relevant studies from database inception to 15 May 2023.

REVIEW METHODS: A random-effects model was used to assess the pooled effect size. Each pooled analysis was tested for publication bias using Egger's regression test.

RESULTS: Eleven studies were included in the final analysis. The evaluation of pooled results showed that interprofessional education significantly enhanced attitudes towards or mutual respect among healthcare professionals (pooled standardized mean difference: 0.14; 95 % Confidence Interval: 0.01-0.28; p = 0.04) and interprofessional knowledge (pooled standardized mean difference: 0.43; 95 % Confidence Interval: 0.22-0.65; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional education is a feasible approach to enhance attitudes towards or mutual respect among healthcare professionals as well as their interprofessional knowledge. Future research is needed to consider the inclusion of a module designed to develop mutual interests and communication to enhance students' perspectives on the importance of the interprofessional education approach.