Original Theory & Research Comparison of Two Dental Hygiene Student Cohorts Receiving Varying Interprofessional and Intraprofessional Curricula

摘要

INTRODUCTION Most interprofessional education (IPE) research has measured student perceptions using pre/ post-surveys during a single IPE activity or from a longitudinal assessment. It is important to begin to search for other educational attributes having an impact on student perception outcomes. This study reports IPE perceptions using the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised, version 2 (SPICE-R2) for two dental hygiene cohorts engaged in different IPE and intraprofessional experiences over a period of an academic year/two semesters. METHODS First year dental hygiene students (DH I) and second year dental hygiene students (DH II) were asked to complete a survey including the SPICE-R2 instrument at the beginning and end of the 2017-18 academic year. The pre/post session paired analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The analysis comparing the DH I to DH II SPICE-R2 pre, post and overall factor mean scores was also done using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Cohen’s d was used to calculate effect sizes. RESULTS Fifty-seven paired data sets were analyzed, thirty-one students were in the first year and twenty-six were in the second year of the dental hygiene program. Results indicated a decrease in mean scores for the total SPICE-R2 and for both the Teamwork and Roles/Responsibilities factors for both DH I and DH II students. DH I students had a statistically significant decrease in the Teamwork and Roles/Responsibilities factors of the SPICE-R2. CONCLUSION This study adds to the current literature by noting a statistically significant decrease in SPICE-R2 scores by early learners. Timing of the introduction of curriculum can be a contributing factor; however, it will be important for researchers to focus on components of curricula design to determine factors which impact student IPE learning, perceptions, and outcomes.