Influential factors affecting perceptions of interprofessional collaboration for advancing health outcomes: Insights and recommendations from an international fellowship program

Objectives: This study aims to examine the perception of health professions faculty towards interprofessional collaboration and to analyze how these perceptions are linked with their profession and prior professional experiences. Methods: This study includes a convenience sample of 90 professionals who enrolled in a fellowship programme that focused on leadership competencies in interprofessional education. The perception of the Interprofessional Collaboration Model Questionnaire (PINCOM-Q) was used for data collection. The Chi-square test for independence was used to explore the relationship between profession and perception. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare between the groups. Results: The response rate was 90%, with the majority of the participants being women (n = 49, 54.4%). The mean age was 42.16 ± 5.88 years (Range = 31–55 years). The most prominent constructs of collaboration perceived by the participants were: motivation, group leadership, and organisational culture. A difference in the perception based on age, years of experience, prior experience of working in interprofessional teams, and profession was observed. The Pearson correlation between construct averages was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.001) between: individuals and groups, r = 0.493; individuals and organisation, r = 0.418; and group and organisation, r = 0.683. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the perception of health professions faculty towards interprofessional collaboration differs in relation to their gender, age, professional qualification, working experience, professional background, and past experience with the interprofessional team. The study highlights the need to consider these factors while working with interprofessional teams.