Comparing case discussion and scenario-based roleplay for interprofessional education: A within-subject study in health sciences

Study Program of Nursing Anesthesia, Faculty of Health, Universitas ‘Aisyiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Interprofessional Education (IPE) equips health students with essential competencies in teamwork, communication, and role understanding. At the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas 'Aisyiyah Yogyakarta, IPE has been implemented through case discussion during the odd semester and scenario-based roleplay in the even semester, yet direct ^†comparisons of these approaches remain limited. This study aimed to compare their effectiveness in enhancing interprofessional collaboration. A quantitative comparative study with a one-group repeated measures design was conducted among 86 purposively selected students who had experienced both methods. Data were obtained using a questionnaire adapted from the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS), encompassing values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, communication, and teamwork, and analyzed with the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The mean score of case discussion was 4.35, while roleplay was 4.36 on a 5-point scale, with a p-value of 0.367 (>0.05), indicating no significant difference, although roleplay showed a slightly higher descriptive score. The findings suggest that both methods effectively improve students' interprofessional collaboration, with case discussion fostering reflective analytical skills and roleplay providing interactive practice experiences. Integrating both approaches may therefore offer complementary benefits for strengthening IPE implementation in health professional education.