Perceptions and barriers of health-care professionals to develop and implement interprofessional education in UAE: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the perception, perspectives, and behaviors of health-care providers, as well as cues to action toward interprofessional education (IPE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The interview sessions were conducted from August 2020 to November 2020 at the College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman. The invited participants belonged to all the colleges which are a part of GMU, providing academic and practice support to the university. All were residents of UAE, and both genders were considered for qualitative assessment. The sample size based on data saturation plus two as standard guidelines in qualitative res earch. All the interviews were audiotaped for verbatim transcriptions. All the recorded interviews were transcribed to avoid bias. The prepared transcripts were then verified for accuracy by the relevant participant and after approval, data were analyzed. In case of an emergent theme, all the investigators were focused on refining the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 17 health-care professionals (HCPs) were interviewed. The participants were chosen from five different colleges at GMU. All the participants had similar perceptions about IPE, as it is a collaboration between different HCPs to achieve better patient outcomes. A diversity in perspectives toward IPE was found among the participants. Several barriers were identified during the interview session and also highlighted the importance of choosing the right topic for IPE, as it affects planning of the activities greatly. The participants also stressed that the lack of communication also contributes to decreased involvement of HCPs. CONCLUSION: This study identified inefficient implementation of IPE. The barriers were lack of team effort, lack of communication within the institute, and administrative support, despite the availability of resources and infrastructure in the university.