Abstract:

The survey aimed to investigate whether:
(1) developing an IPE curriculum in the university level is feasible and
(2) providing IPE to university students can enhance knowledge and improve attitude towards the needs of the elderly in the community.

We adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect the data. The online survey was conducted from March to June 2020, 572 full-time undergraduates and postgraduates from the 8 faculties of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have completed the questionnaires. A total of 13 undergraduate students attended an in-depth individual interview in June 2020. All 13 students agreed that the development of an IPE curriculum at the university level is feasible. Yet, based on the online survey, 73.8% CUHK students never heard of “Inter-professional education” so they never have chance to join any IPE activities, and 89.2% of students never joined any IPE activities in the university.

There are difficulties and barriers in the implementation of the IPE curriculum at the university level including:
(1) assessment methods and class content for IPE programme;
(2) manpower needed to plan the curriculum and logistics arrangement;
(3) timetabling issues with students from different majors
(4) increased workload for administrative staffs in different programmes.

In conclusion, the survey results showed that it is valuable to implement IPE education in the university. To enrich students’ inter-disciplinary knowledge, the university may consider adding the elements of IPE into the university curriculum. However, how to implement IPE in different faculties effectively need to be further explored.

Keywords:

Inter-professional education, feasibility, acceptance, educational values.