Examining interprofessional team interventions designed to improve nursing and team outcomes in practice: a descriptive and methodological review

Abstract

Effective interprofessional (IP) team-based care is critical to enhance the delivery of efficient care and improve nursing and IP team outcomes. This study aims to review the most recent IP team intervention studies that focused on outcomes related to nursing and IP teams. PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Embase were searched for existing literature published between January 2011 and December 2016. The search strategy was developed through both literature review and consultation with a health sciences librarian. This review included IP team intervention studies published in peer-reviewed journals and written in English. Studies were included if they conducted an IP team intervention for healthcare teams that include nurses and examined outcomes related to nursing and the IP teams. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 41 articles were included for the final review. Two authors extracted data on the characteristics of IP team interventions, assessment methods, and their outcomes related to nursing and IP teams using a data abstraction tool developed by the research team. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. We found that most of the included studies were conducted in the US and on inpatient units. A quasi-experimental study design was most commonly employed. Most studies conducted IP team training such as TeamSTEPPS® as a one-time activity. The most common outcomes measured were attitudes or perceptions about IP teamwork or communication, followed by patient-related outcomes, and knowledge or skills about IP competencies. The quality of the included studies was generally low. The findings from this review will contribute to understanding the characteristics of current IP intervention studies and call for IP scholars to design more rigorous yet realistic IP intervention studies.

Evaluation of care technology applied to the nursing process in the light of best practices

“…Neste sentido, resultados de uma revisão integrativa da literatura evidenciaram que, no âmbito da saúde, o trabalho coletivo é visto como instrumento fundamental para aprimorar a prestação de cuidados eficientes, principalmente na área de enfermagem. Reforça-se que a realização do trabalho em equipe melhora os resultados da equipe de enfermagem relacionados aos paciente (10) .…”

Systematic review of the characteristics of brief team interventions to clarify roles and improve functioning in healthcare teams

“…There is a growing interest worldwide to understand how to improve team functioning and team performance in healthcare settings [1]. Poor team functioning has been identified as a critical factor of adverse events of patient safety [2].…”

“…Complex interventions are made of several components and interrelated parts [27,28]. When examining interventions, researchers [1,27] have noted key characteristics to consider included the dose (e.g., duration, frequency), mode of delivery (e.g., written, verbal), and type of intervention.…”

Longitudinal team training programme in a Norwegian surgical ward: a qualitative study of nurses’ and physicians’ experiences with teamwork skills

“…Quantitative studies of the TeamSTEPPS programme have confirmed improvements in teamwork and communication, 22 23 patient safety culture, 24–27 efficiency inpatient care, 24 25 28 complications and mortality, 29 falls 23 and frequency of wrong-site/side/person surgery. 22 Most of the TeamSTEPPS studies are carried out in the USA 30 without any longitudinal follow-up, and there are currently only a few qualitative studies 18 —for example, in surgical and paediatric intensive care 25 and cardiothoracic surgery telemetry. 31 However, a need persists for qualitative studies in surgical ward settings because the team structure in wards is different from that in intensive care unit (ICU) settings; physicians are not situated in the ward for extended periods, thus restricting the possibilities for interprofessional reflections.…”