Challenges to the Implementation of Interprofessional Education in Health Profession Education in Iran

BACKGROUND: Changes in the structure and nature of health care highlight the need for better collaboration between professions focusing on patient or health-care users. Interprofessional education (IPE) has attracted a lot of attention at the international level, and its positive consequences in different areas of health care have been investigated and approved. This study explored the opinions and viewpoints of professors and experts regarding the challenges to the implementation of interprofessional education in health profession education in Iran in 2018. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted with 15 IPE professors and experts using semi-structured interviews. We used an inductive approach to content analysis as developed by Elo et al. The interviews were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman method by MAXQDA software version 12. RESULTS: The main challenges to the implementation of IPE were categorized into educational system, structural and cultural challenges. The educational challenges were the professors’ lack of ability, a non-flexible and single-disciplined curriculum, and weaknesses in the current education. The professors and experts felt that the most important structural challenges included centralism, hierarchy of power, poor educational groundwork, and lack of support of organizations. Cultural challenges mainly related to the attitudes of managers, professors, and even students regarding IPE and the need for change. CONCLUSION: Designing and implementing IPE in Iran face major challenges. Cultural and attitude issues were the greatest challenges to be addressed in the context of implementing IPE in health-care education.