Providers’ perspectives on collaboration

Abstract

ObjectiveChanges in models of health care are required to better meet the needs of diverse, underserved patient populations. Collaboration among providers is one way to promote accessible, comprehensive and continuous care in healthcare organizations. This paper describes the quantitative findings from two time points that examined providers’ views of collaboration among a sample of diverse personnel (e.g. clinical nurses, social workers, dental providers, mental health providers, clerical staff, medical assistants, public health staff, and administrators) within a federally qualified nurse managed health care centre in the United States.MethodsThe quantitative arm of a mixed-method study is presented in this paper. Two instruments, the Collaboration and Satisfaction About Care Decisions Scale and the University of the West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire (comprised of 4 subscales–Communication and Teamwork Scale, Interprofessional Learning Scale, Interprofessional Interaction Scale, and Interprofessional Relationships Scale) were administered to providers at baseline and three to eight months following six same discipline focus group discussions on collaboration, in order to evaluate whether participating in the focus group discussions changed providers’ views of collaboration. A summary of the focus group data which were published elsewhere is additionally summarized to help provide insight to the quantitative findings. Thirty-nine staff participated.ResultsPaired t-tests revealed that only one scale out of the five, Collaboration and Satisfaction About Care Decisions Scale (33.97 at time one and 37.45 at time two), significantly and positively changed after the focus group discussion (p=0.046). Providers’ views on collaboration ranged from positive to moderate views of collaboration; most measures revealed a non-significant improvement after the focus group discussions. Staff with some graduate school reported the greatest satisfaction with decisions for the patient, and those with high school reported the lowest satisfaction with decisions for the patient. Respondents with a graduate degree had the most positive views of interprofessional relationships, whilst those with either a high school degree or bachelor’s degree had the most negative views of interprofessional relationships. ANOVAs by professional role revealed the least positive views of collaboration for provider groups with lower levels of education, with upper administration reporting the most positive views on collaboration.ConclusionAlthough the discussion generated by the focus groups was expected to facilitate communication, and research has suggested that communication between providers facilitates collaboration, only one subscale evaluating providers’ views of collaboration positively and significantly changed after the focus group discussion. The wide range of views on collaboration suggests there are diverse perspectives on collaboration among the staff based on professional roles and levels of education, with upper administration...

Midwife–Physician Collaboration: A Conceptual Framework for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

“…Shared power is the intentional act of yielding full control of the practice in favor of a collective venture. Successful collaborations empower both sides of the partnership by promoting horizontal relationships . The misuse of power, creation of hierarchies, and favoring of the interests of one over the interests of the other can have a negative effect on the working relationship, which ultimately hinders the independence of one group and thereby limits the potential for collaboration .…”

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“…Share goal is an attribute that can foster IDC [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Shared goal can drive the whole team to make endeavours for a common goal that cannot be reached when individuals work on their own [17].…”

“…Effective IDC lies on team members' mutual respect [25][26][27][28][29][30]. It is fundamental to build a collaborative, supportive environment and mutually trusting relationships with other providers [23].…”

“…Role ambiguity, overlapping responsibilities and interdisciplinary conflicts are constant problems in IDC [18,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Overlapping scopes of practice tend to occur when there is a shared body of knowledge amongst disciplines [17].…”

Interprofessional Practice Approach between Social Work and Pharmacy

“…The presence of respect and trust are presumed precursors for successful internprofessional relationships that do not remain static but are subject to change as a result of past experiences, situation specific healthcare related cases, and current experiences (Nielson, 2004;Pullon, 2005). Collaboration among diverse perssonel is one way to promote a comprehensive and continuous approach to mental health care (Bruner, Waite, & Davey, 2011). While interprofessonal collaboration is recognized as a key element in the development of initiatives that are designed to increase the effectiveness of health care services, rarely, is the relationship of the social worker and clinical pharmacist documented in the literature but benefits in patient care may be achieved through the existence of this collaborative effort (D'Amour et al, 2005).…”