Interprofessional Education Among Occupational Therapy Programs: Faculty Perceptions of Challenges and Opportunities.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated occupational therapy faculty beliefs about and perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE) and to identify differences in faculty positions on IPE between programs affiliated with an on-campus academic health care center (AHC) and programs not affiliated with an on-campus AHC.

METHOD: Online surveys were distributed by email to 1,466 faculty at programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. The results were described using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations.

RESULTS: Faculty responses supported the need for IPE. Ethics was ranked as the most important IPE competency among both the AHC and the non-AHC groups. IPE was more commonly included in the curriculum of programs with an on-campus AHC than in the curriculum of those without an AHC.

CONCLUSION: The majority of occupational therapy faculty supported the need for IPE; however, many reported limitations with faculty or time constraints as barriers to IPE.