Structured Comparison Approach in Remote Interprofessional Education: Enhancing Role Clarity and Collaborative Identity Through Video-Based Reflection

Background: Remote interprofessional education (IPE) often fails to reflect cognitive differences across disciplines, limiting students’ ability to form collaborative identities and clarify professional roles. Prior research has focused on attitudinal change, with less attention to reflective and epistemological learning. Objective: This study aimed to examine how a brief, structured remote IPE intervention could foster understanding of disciplinary perspectives and enhance interprofessional competence among occupational therapy (OT) and mental health social work (MHSW) students. Methods: Final-year Japanese university students in OT and MHSW participated in a two-session remote IPE intervention. In the first session, students independently assessed a video case using ICF core sets. In the second, profession-specific results were aggregated, visualized, and shared as feedback to prompt guided reflection. A convergent mixed-methods design was used, combining pre/post surveys (RIPLS, IEPS) with qualitative analysis of written reflections. Results: Significant improvement was observed in the IEPS Competence and Autonomy subscale among MHSW students with low baseline scores. No significant changes were found in RIPLS scores. Thematic analysis indicated increased awareness of disciplinary perspectives and recognition of complementary roles. Conclusions: A structured comparison approach can promote role clarity, reflective learning, and interprofessional identity in brief, remote IPE.