Exploring differences in and factors influencing self-efficacy for competence in interprofessional collaborative practice among health professions students.

The value of health care delivered via effective interprofessional teams has created an imperative for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP). To inform IPE strategies, we investigated differences in perceived self-efficacy (SE) for competence in ICP among health professions students. The study data were collected between 2015 and 2019 from students from 13 different health professions programmes (N = 3,497) before an annual institutional interprofessional programme. Students completed the IPECC-SET-27, a validated instrument evaluating perceived SE for competence in ICP, and rated their 1) amount of previous contact with, and 2) perceived understanding of, the role of different health professions. Students in different health professions education programmes were compared using parametric statistics. Regression analyses explored factors influencing SE for competence in ICP. Findings revealed significant differences in perceived SE for competence in ICP between programmes (p < .05). Specifically, health information management/health informatics, dentistry, medicine, and nursing students expressed relatively higher SE, whereas physical therapy and occupational therapy students expressed relatively lower SE. Perceived understanding of the role of health professions (p < .01) and gender (p < .01) contributed significantly to predicting perceived SE for competence in ICP, while the amount of previous contact with other health professions did not (p = .42). The findings highlight the value of designing IPE with consideration of specific learner needs.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Health Professional Students: Cross-Sectional Data from the First Wave of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study.

Vaccine hesitancy has been observed around the world, but there is a paucity of data among a broad range of U.S. health professional students. The goal of this report is to present findings about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among a cross-section of U.S. health professional students and determine if hesitancy varies by demographic characteristics, health science college, and other factors. A cross-sectional analysis of HOLISTIC Cohort Study participants enrolled from April 14 2021 to May 5 2021 at seven health sciences colleges in the University of Illinois Chicago was used. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate vaccine hesitancy items and identify domains. Among 555 health professional students, three domains (perceived benefit, trustworthiness, and risk) contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Significant differences were observed in the domains among students of different races as well as vaccination history. Compared to students in the College of Medicine, students in the Colleges of Applied Health Science (OR 0.43; CI [0.19-0.96]), Pharmacy (OR 0.38; CI [0.17-0.87]), Nursing (OR 0.35; CI [0.16-0.78]), and Social Work (OR 0.30; CI [0.11-0.78]) reported lower perceived benefit. Compared to students in the College of Medicine, students in the College of Applied Health Sciences (OR 0.39; CI [0.17-0.94]), Dentistry (OR 0.27; CI [0.10-0.76]), Nursing (OR 0.38; CI [0.16-0.94]), and Social work (OR 0.31; CI [0.11-0.86]) reported more trustworthiness and more concerns about risk (OR 2.80; CI [1.15-6.81] for College of Applied Health Sciences, OR 9.12; CI [2.80-29.75] for Dentistry, OR 3.77; CI [1.47-9.65] for Nursing, OR 3.14; CI [1.02-9.67] for Social Work). Our findings suggest the need for a tailored vaccination strategy among different subgroups of health professional students.

Health professional students at the University of Illinois Chicago (HOLISTIC) Cohort Study: A protocol.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study are to establish a prospective cohort study covering a period of three years that characterizes the health of students within and across health professional education programs at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, implement an interprofessional student research team, and generate a meaningful dataset that is used to inform initiatives that improve student health. This report describes the protocol of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study, including survey development, recruitment strategy, and data management and analysis. METHODS: An interprofessional student research team has been organized with the goal of providing continuous assessment of study design and implementation across the seven health science colleges (applied health sciences, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work) at the University of Illinois Chicago in Chicago, IL. To be eligible to participate in the HOLISTIC Cohort Study, students are required to be 1) age 18 years or older; 2) enrolled full- or part-time in one or more of UIC's seven health science colleges; and 3) enrolled in a program that prepares its graduates to enter a healthcare profession. The study protocol includes a series of three recruitment waves (Spring 2021 [April 14, 2021, to May 5, 2021; completed], Spring 2022, Spring 2023). In the first recruitment wave, eligible students were sent an invitation via electronic mail (e-mail) to complete an online survey. The online survey was based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019 survey and the 2014 World Health Organization Report of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group Vaccine Hesitancy Scale. Electronic informed consent and study data are collected and managed using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tools. This study utilizes convenience sampling from all seven health science colleges at UIC with a target recruitment total of 2,000 participants. DISCUSSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS: A total of 555 students across all seven health science colleges (10.8% of 5,118 students who were invited; 27.6% of target sample size) enrolled in the cohort during the first recruitment wave. The pilot data establishes the feasibility of the study during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adaptations to overcome barriers to study implementation, including the use of remote, rather than in-person, study meetings, staff training, and participant recruitment are discussed. For the second and third waves of recruitment, the student research team will seek institutional review board (IRB) approval to implement additional enrollment strategies that are tailored to each health science college, such as online newsletters, virtual townhalls, flyers on bulletin boards near classrooms tailored to each health science college.

Instrument Refinement for Measuring Self-Efficacy for Competence in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Development and Psychometric Analysis of IPECC-SET 27 and IPECC-SET 9.

Assessing competence in interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP) among health professions students is a high priority. This cross-sectional study built on the authors' prior work that led to the development of the 38-item Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Self Efficacy Tool (IPECC-SET), an instrument to evaluate health professions students' self-efficacy in interprofessional collaborative competency, and addressed two primary questions. First, could a unidimensional scale based on the IPEC competencies and assessing perceived self-efficacy for competence in ICP and be constructed? Second, could a shorter version of that instrument still meet criteria for unidimensionality and retain the ability to separate students in distinct levels of perceived self-efficacy for competence in ICP? Study participants were two cohorts of students from 11 health professions programs participating in an institutional interprofessional immersion event in 2015 and 2016. Statistical stepwise analyses were conducted using a Rasch rating scale model. The original 38 IPECC-SET items did not meet the criteria to generate a valid unidimensional measure of self-efficacy for competence in ICP, but could be condensed into a 27-item scale that met all set criteria for unidimensionality, with an explained variance of 61.2% and a separation index of 3.02. A shorter, 9-item scale demonstrated a separation index of 2.21. The nine items included also demonstrated a relatively equivalent range (54.93-45.65) as compared to the 27-item scale (57.26-46.16). Findings confirm empirically the conceptual suggestion from our earlier work that the four dimensions in the original IPEC competencies contribute to a shared underlying construct: perceived competence in interprofessional collaboration. Given the emphasis on ICP, psychometrically sound instruments are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational efforts to promote competency for ICP. Based on the findings from this study, both the IPECC-SET 27 and IPECC-SET 9 can be used to measure perceived self-efficacy for competence in ICP.

Development and validation of a tool to assess self-efficacy for competence in interprofessional collaborative practice.

Although interprofessional education and collaborative practice have gained increasing attention over the past five decades, development of rigorous tools to assess related competencies is still in infancy. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to evaluate health professions students' self-efficacy in interprofessional collaborative competency and to assess the instrument's psychometric properties. We developed a new instrument based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative's (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. In a cross-sectional study design, 660 students from 11 health programmes at an urban university in the Midwest USA completed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Self Efficacy Tool (IPECC-SET). Rasch analysis evaluated the following: (1) functioning of the instrument; (2) fit of items within each subscale to a unidimensional construct; (3) person-response validity; (4) person-separation reliability; and (5) differential item functioning in relation to gender and ethnicity. After removing seven items with suboptimal fit, each subscale demonstrated high internal validity. Two items demonstrated differential item functioning (DIF) for "Gender" and none for "Race/Ethnicity." Our findings provide early evidence of IPECC-SET as a valid measure of self-efficacy for interprofessional competence for health professions students. Additional research is warranted to establish external validity of the new instrument by conducting studies across institutions.

Characteristics of US-Licensed Foreign-Educated Physical Therapists.

BACKGROUND: Foreign-educated physical therapists are often viewed as one possible solution to the current shortage of physical therapists, yet there is very little research regarding these individuals. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe those physical therapists who are licensed in the United States but who were educated in another country. This description includes their country of education, their employment patterns, and the reasons they decided to emigrate and work as a physical therapist in the United States. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. METHODS: An electronic survey was sent to all physical therapists currently licensed in the United States who had been educated in another country. Those who had been licensed within the last 5 years are reported. RESULTS: The results of the survey indicated that the typical foreign-educated physical therapist is female, aged 32.2 years, and was born and trained in either the Philippines or India. A majority of foreign-educated physical therapists obtained their first license in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, or Florida. The most common reasons cited as to why a particular jurisdiction was chosen for initial employment were "recruiter recommendation," "family, spouse, partner, or friends," "ease of the licensure process," and "ability to secure a visa sponsor." A majority of foreign-educated physical therapists in this study initially worked in a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care or extended care facility, or a home health setting. LIMITATIONS: Only those foreign-educated physical therapists licensed within the last 5 years are reported. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to report on foreign-educated physical therapists in the United States. The findings of this study will provide important and useful information to others dealing with physical therapy professional and workforce issues.

Using compensations to assess physical performance for ambulatory outpatients.

OBJECTIVE: To construct a physical performance scale for community-dwelling ambulatory outpatients that is linear, includes high functioning tasks, and uses common compensations to assess difficulty levels. DESIGN: Calibrated subject performances on 19 tasks were rated by an examiner, timed, and had compensations recorded. SETTING: Ambulatory outpatient physical therapy (PT) department of a tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 50 community-dwelling patients with difficulties in mobility referred for PT. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Community Ambulatory Physical Performance Scale (CAPPS) constructed by using Rasch analysis, the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS), and the six-minute walk test (6MWT). RESULTS: The CAPPS showed construct validity after removal of 3 items. Two additional items were removed for improved clinical utility. The person reliability was .89 and item reliability was .98. Subjects' performance on the CAPPS correlated with the 6MWT (r=.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], .65-.87) and with the LEFS (r=.62; 95% CI, .40-.78). CONCLUSIONS: The CAPPS showed good psychometric properties and has utility for assessments of higher-level physical functioning. This standardized approach to performance testing for ambulatory outpatients appears to be a promising method for articulating the compensations persons use to accomplish common tasks. Use of compensatory strategies to assess difficulties in physical performance may assist in delineating interventions directed toward improving task performance.