“All for One” experiences of interprofessional team members caring for older adults: A metasynthesis

Abstract

Background: There is some evidence that healthcare professionals prefer an interprofessional approach to care and this approach is of particular importance to older people due to their complex needs and multitude of chronic conditions.Objective: This metasynthesis aimed to synthesise and unearth new understandings of the experiences of interprofessional team members that are caring for older people from a variety of qualitative studies.Design: This review is designed as a metasynthesis based on the method put forth by Noblit and Hare for synthesising qualitative research. Data sources: A search for qualitative and mixed methods articles that included healthcare professionals' experiences of caring for older people as a member of an interprofessional team was conducted via an electronic database search of CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS and PsycINFO. Review methods: The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) the method of the study was qualitative or included a qualitative component, (b) an interprofessional team cared for an older person, (c) data regarding interprofessional team members' experiences were gathered, (d) published in English and (e) between the period of 2000 and 2019. Key metaphors were extracted from the data and juxtaposed until themes emerged. Results: A total of 1807 full-text articles were retrieved and screened via their titles and abstracts. Nine studies were included in this metasynthesis based upon full-text relevance and meeting the inclusion criteria. Six themes emerged describing the experience of interprofessional team members caring for older people: All for One: Unifying the Team for a Meaningful Purpose; The Cast; A Shared Vocabulary; Collaboration and Integration; A Functional-Dysfunctional Family and Appreciate the Lifeworld. Team members appreciated this model of care. Conclusions:The emergent themes suggest potential buy-in from interprofessional team members to this care model for older people. Nursing can assert their unique knowledge and practice into the role as the team leader to mitigate potential barriers and team conflicts. Implications for practice: Interprofessional team members caring for older people can improve their experience. Improved experiences for interprofessional team members can lead to better care for older people. Professionals need specialized training prior to practicing interprofessionally.

Implementation considerations for non-communicable disease-related integration in primary health care: a rapid review of qualitative evidence

“…Nevertheless, the studies identified covered a large, diverse geographical spread, income settings, different configurations of disease programmes being integrated and a variety of integration implementation strategies and appear to reflect both the homogeneity and similar implementation considerations noted in other reviews [ 9 , 21 , 26 , 52 , 54 – 56 ]. We received feedback from WHO working group on the draft findings which was an opportunity to check the relevance and applicability of the findings.…”

“…A review on continuity of chronic care for in remote rural Australia highlighted similar resource issues, and stressed the importance of skilled staff which local cultural knowledge [ 55 ]. In a review of experiences of interprofessional team members caring for older adults, the authors note as we did in our review, the importance of the relational elements of building a multi-disciplinary team and change management [ 56 ]. Their review provides further insights on the inevitable stressors, tensions, territoriality, and unequal power dynamics associated with interprofessional team dynamics.…”

“…Their review provides further insights on the inevitable stressors, tensions, territoriality, and unequal power dynamics associated with interprofessional team dynamics. These include, for example, the shift in thinking and practice required when combining teams; valuing others’ and one’s own contribution to the team, learning to communicate by developing a shared vocabulary, communication that is courteous, respectful, and able to “challenge one another.” [ 56 ]. The review notes that team approaches can be strengthened by “appreciating the life world” of the patient and on all staff focusing core business on meeting complex patient needs that can improve patient quality of life [ 56 ].…”

Barriers and facilitators to interprofessional collaborative practice for community‐dwelling older adults: An integrative review

“…Subsequently, these IPE opportunities further facilitate effective IPCP. Findings from metasyntheses by Johnson et al (2020) and Montano (2019) support the need for interprofessional training for clinicians, as traditional training models perpetuate learning and practicing in silos. However, it is clear from the theme The “C” in IPCP , even more than IPE, collaboration is a key facilitator to effective IPCP and it is essential that professionals have a strong desire to collaborate (Malcolm, Shellman, Elwell, et al, 2017).…”

A matter of participation? A critical incident study of municipal care personnel in situations involving care-dependent older persons and emergency medical services

“…The dependence on inter-organizational collaboration in emergency situations, and the lack of structured collaboration between the EMS and the municipal home care organization put older persons’ well-being at risk. Research on inter-professional collaboration stresses the need for clarified roles, shared goals, respectful communication, and recognition of interdependence for collaboration to be successful in the care of older persons (Montano, 2019 ). The lack of clearly defined roles for care personnel within municipal home care have been pointed out in previous research (Bing-Jonsson et al, 2016 ).…”