Exploring confidence development in interprofessional teams: A pre-post analysis of a health and social care education module

Aim: Confidence can be defined as a strong belief, firm trust, or sure expectation in relation to achieving an outcome. The study aimed to examine change in confidence to collaborate in teams in undergraduate health and social care students undertaking a mandatory 6-week IPE module using the Team Observed Professional Encounter (TOSPE). Method: A pre-test post-test study was undertaken. Confidence was measured using the validated Interprofessional Education Academic Behavioural Confidence Scale. Independent t-tests and Analysis of Variance were used to establish differences between groups at the commencement of the study. To compare pre and post confidence scores paired t-tests were used for normally distributed data, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were undertaken for non-normally distributed data. Cohen’s d and Pearson r were produced as measures of effect size. A mixed design Analysis of Variance was conducted to examine the influence of categorical variables on changes in confidence scores. Results: Data were included from 80 matched pairs. Pre-test self-perceived scores for Total Confidence and the subscales for Interprofessional Team Working, Interprofessional Communication and Behaviours Underpinning Collaboration increased significantly (p =