Self-reported knowledge, experiences and predisposition towards interprofessional education and collaborative practice in faculty members from the centre-west region of Brazil: a qualitative study

Abstract

The mechanisms that facilitate interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) associated with the academic training project include the effective involvement of faculty members, a topic about which there is little available knowledge in Portuguese speaking countries. The goal of the present study was the understanding of self-reported knowledge, experiences, and willingness towards IPECP of health/related areas professors, from two universities in the centre-west region of Brazil. The intentional sample included 16 professors, members of the College and Teaching Structuring Cores (definition, management and update of undergraduate pedagogical projects), who answered a semi structured interview script and filled in a sociodemographic and professional profile questionnaire. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, validated by the participants and then submitted to a thematic content analysis, supported by NVivo, version 11. The resultsrevealed six inductive thematic categories (Undergraduate Training Process, Professional Experience in IPECP, Mechanisms for IPECP, Openness to IPECP, Interprofessional Relations and Representation of IPECP), and 24 subcategories. In general, participants revealed to be open to IPECP, even though not all had knowledge of the mechanisms or technical, political, and ethical tools that favour the development of IPECP, in undergraduate degrees.