Hospital-based interprofessional education: A systematic review of its components and its effects for medical students

Introduction: Interprofessional education (IPE) in healthcare can have a positive effect on collaborative attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and skills, but there is little information about which components of interprofessional learning environments are actually effective. This systematic review aimed to summarise IPE learning environment components in the hospital setting and their contributions to outcomes.

Methods: Seven databases were systematically searched for IPE interventions for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in the hospital setting. Data were extracted from quantitative and qualitative studies. Intervention characteristics were analysed descriptively. Outcome measures were extracted and categorised to determine positive, neutral and negative effects.

Results: We included 256 IPE interventions in 251 studies published until June 2025. Studies varied widely in study design, assessment tools and outcomes. The general quality of the studies was low to medium. Studies focused largely on modification of attitudes and/or perceptions. Only five studies assessed long-term effects.

Conclusions: The vast majority of studies indicated some positive effect of IPE. Interventions lasting at least a week and including formative elements most often led to positive outcomes. However, the magnitude of the positive effects was difficult to assess due to heterogeneity and varied quality of the studies. Deliberate choices in research protocols are needed to ascertain possible benefits of IPE in the current age of increasing costs and complexity in healthcare.