Attitudes of medical school deans toward interprofessional education in Western Pacific Region countries

To examine the attitudes of medical school deans toward interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice (CP), we conducted survey research in the Western Pacific Region. This regional survey was conducted as a collaborative research project with the World Health Organization. A survey was distributed to the medical school deans in Malaysia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea and Japan. Thirty-five surveys were returned from four countries. The survey demonstrated that many medical school deans have positive attitudes toward IPE and CP. However, respondents also reported that it is not easy to introduce interprofessional learning in their academic settings. It is suggested that collaboration between education systems and health systems is needed to introduce IPE in the academic setting. The possible role of international organizations is mentioned. This information helps to identify local efforts on which global health organizations and national governments can build.