Abstract
The current project aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptance and educational values of inter-professional education (IPE) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). This project is in line with the CUHK strategic themes (2016-2020) and the United Nation sustainable development goals (SDGs) in particular to goals 3 (good health and well-being), 4 (quality education), 10 (reduced inequalities), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) & 17 (partnerships for goals). Aging is a global problem. Elders are facing not only health-related problems but also stronger demands for better quality of life and services. There are wide variety of industries including health, business, insurance, engineering, public legal policies and city infrastructure design are needed to address the changing demands of the aging population. In order to address this societal problem, multidisciplinary approach is vital and necessary. As a result, we need to prepare our students and teachers at CUHK on IPE. This project involves three phases. Phase 1 is the pilot phase to collect information from the teaching staff from all 8 faculties at CUHK and students on their views for IPE including barriers, curriculum impact, administrative issues as well as teaching and learning expectations. The identified issues and problems are then analyzed and summarized. Suggestions and/or strategies in tackling the problems are generated for the second execution phase. In phase 2, we aim to implement the IPE curriculum with at least 5 faculties within CUHK. The final phase is the evaluation process to investigate the impact of IPE at CUHK. The current project will provide new insight for the development of IPE at CUHK in the future.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The objectives were to investigate whether: (1) it was feasible to develop an Inter-professional Education (IPE) curriculum at the university level and (2) providing IPE to university students could increase their knowledge and improve their attitudes toward the needs of elders in the community.
Activities, process and outcomes
Phase 1 of the study was to identify students’ awareness of IPE and understand the feasibility of IPE with a university-wide survey. Phase 2 was to conduct an IPE course for students in health care-related major and Phase 3 was to evaluate the efficacy of IPE on improving students’ interprofessional skills.
Deliverables and evaluation
Quantitative and qualitative analyses were adopted for evaluating the project. Results from Phase 1 indicated that though students had low awareness on IPE, they had positive attitudes and high expectations towards IPE. Results from Phase 2 and 3 showed that students’ self-report duty and responsibility was significantly improved. Our findings suggested the feasibility of IPE in higher education institute in Hong Kong.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
Two websites were construed to disseminate the findings of the project. Our findings were presented at local and international conferences. Six micro-modules on health & diseases topics were made to share students’ learning outcomes from the project. A manuscript of Phase 1 was submitted to peer-review journal.
Impact on teaching and learning
Students engaged in the IPE program reported improvement in communication and better understanding of their professional roles. Our project thus shed light on higher education from surveying the feasibility of IPE project. Future direction of education may take IPE into consideration.
