Impact of a longitudinal student-initiated home visit programme on interprofessional education

Abstract

Introduction: Tri-Generational HomeCare (TriGen) is a student-initiated home visit programme for patients with a key focus on undergraduate interprofessional education (IPE). We sought to validate the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and evaluate TriGen’s efficacy by investigating healthcare undergraduates’ attitude towards IPE. Methods: Teams of healthcare undergraduates performed home visits for patients fortnightly over six months, trained by professionals from a regional hospital and a social service organisation. The RIPLS was validated using exploratory factor analysis. Evaluation of TriGen’s efficacy was performed via the administration of the RIPLS pre-and post-intervention, analysis of qualitative survey results and thematic analysis of written feedback. Results: 79.6% of 226 undergraduate participants from 2015-2018 were enrolled. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors accounting for 64.9% of total variance. One item loaded poorly and was removed. There was no difference in pre-and post-intervention RIPLS total and subscale scores. 91.6% of respondents agreed they better appreciated the importance of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in patient care, and 72.8% said MDMs were important for their learning. Thematic analysis revealed takeaways including learning from and teaching one another, understanding one’s own and other healthcare professionals’ role, teamwork, and meeting undergraduates from different faculties. Conclusion: We validated the RIPLS in Singapore and demonstrated the feasibility of an interprofessional, student-initiated home visit programme. While there was no change in RIPLS scores, the qualitative feedback suggests that there are participant-perceived benefits for IPE after undergoing this programme, even with the perceived barriers to IPE. Future programmes can work on addressing these barriers to IPE.