Interprofessional teams: the realities and preferences of four health professions in community practice

Abstract

Interprofessional collaboration is of interest to health care students, faculty, governments, health region employees and employers, and health care consumers across Canada. The shortage of health care professionals and the increase in the number of persons living with chronic illness and disability in Canada is an immediate and growing concern. An increase in caregivers in the community, increased expectations for health services and more readily available information all contribute to the need for health services and professionals in the community that support a good quality of life for Canadians. The health care professional shortage creates a further challenge for key stakeholders in academia, government, and health regions who hold a vested interest in the health of Canadians. Health care professionals are not able to address the complicated and complex health care needs of individuals single-handedly. A collaborative community-based delivery of primary health services is recognized around the world as the most effective way to deliver everyday health services. Health professions agree that interprofessional collaboration is beneficial to client care but often fail to maximize their potential to work collaboratively despite strong advocacy for the benefits of interdependence. Interprofessional collaboration is associated with improved holistic and comprehensive care for clients and a greater satisfaction for health care providers. The findings from this research will contribute to our understanding of the characteristics of primary care teams across Canada. We gain insight into these characteristics across the four professions, why some professionals are not participating on teams, and the preferred team characteristics of the four professions. Identifying these successes and gaps will support the development of more effective ways to participate in collaborative teams. The study examined existing data from participants who represented four health professions (medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy) who work within primary health care as contained in the Health Care Teams in Community Practice data base (Dobson, et al. 2004). The study employed a content analysis approach for the analysis of the open ended qualitative answers. Responses to the short answer questions were placed into categories, counted, and interpreted based on those categories. The findings from the study concluded that desired and actual team characteristics were dissimilar. These differences must be addressed in order for clients to benefit from community health care team work.