Improving Interprofessional Collaboration: Building Confidence Using A Novel HIV Curriculum For Healthcare Workers Across Sub-Saharan Africa

The 21st century presents significant global health challenges that necessitate an integrated health workforce capable of delivering person-centered and integrated healthcare services. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) plays a vital role in achieving integration and training an IPC-capable workforce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become imperative. This study aimed to assess changes in IPC confidence among learners participating in a team-based, case-based HIV training program across diverse settings in SSA. Additionally, it sought to examine the impact of different course formats (in-person, synchronous virtual, or blended learning) on IPC confidence. Data from 20 institutions across 18 SSA countries were collected between May 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate associations between variables of interest and the gain in IPC confidence. The analysis included 3,842 learners; nurses comprised 37.9% (n=1,172) and physicians 26.7% (n=825). The majority of learners (67.2%, n=2,072) were pre-service learners, while 13.0% (n=401) had graduated within the past year. Factors significantly associated with increased IPC confidence included female gender, physician cadre, completion of graduate training over 12 months ago, and participation in virtual or in-person synchronous workshops (p<0.05). The insights gained from this analysis can inform future curriculum development to strengthen interprofessional healthcare delivery across SSA. ### Competing Interest Statement One of the authors, Judy Khanyola, is an editor at PLOS Global Public Health. ### Clinical Trial NA ### Funding Statement None ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The protocol for this project was reviewed and approved by the University of California, San Francisco’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) in San Francisco, California. Verbal consent was required at the time of participation in the study as approved by the IRB (protocol #: 19–28,447). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data included in this study are available in a public, open-access format on the Dryad dataset repository website: https://doi.org/10.7272/Q6WQ021N