# Further psychometric evaluation of the Swedish version of the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) using Rasch analysis

## TL;DR

This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the IEPS using Rasch analysis to improve its reliability and validity for measuring perceptions of interprofessional learning.

## Contribution

The study provides a detailed Rasch analysis of the Swedish IEPS version, identifying specific items and response categories that need improvement.

## Key findings

- The total scale showed satisfactory internal consistency but required combining response categories for optimal performance.
- Items 4 and 6 in the Perceived need for cooperation subscale exhibited local dependency and disordered thresholds.
- Removing item 6 and possibly item 4 could enhance the psychometric properties of the subscale.

## Abstract

The Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) is an instrument that measures students’ perceptions of interprofessional learning. It has shown satisfactory internal consistency for the total scale; however, problems regarding the psychometric properties of the subscales have resulted in several different versions of the instrument. The aim of this study is to further evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of IEPS using Rasch analysis.

The Swedish translation of the 12-item, 3 subscale version of the IEPS was used in a student population (n = 704) from eight healthcare programmes. The psychometric properties were evaluated using Rasch analysis based on five aspects: rating scale functioning, unidimensionality, reliability, targeting, and differential item functioning.

The total scale showed satisfactory internal consistency. However, the scale was suboptimal regarding the response categories, where three response categories had to be combined into one to achieve a more optimal number of observations per category. Regarding the second subscale, Perceived need for cooperation, item 4 and particularly item 6 showed local dependency and disordered thresholds.

To improve the evaluation of interprofessional education, future research should rephrase the response categories or minimize the number of response options. Additionally, the removal of item 6 and possibly item 4 from the second subscale may improve the psychometric properties of the scale.