Publication/Presentation Date

5-23-2018

Abstract

Background: Inter-professional teamwork in primary care settings offers potential benefits for responding to the increasing complexity of patients' needs. While it is a central element in many reforms to primary care delivery, implementing inter-professional teamwork has proven to be more challenging than anticipated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to better understand the dimensions and intensity of teamwork and the developmental process involved in creating fully integrated teams.

Methods: Secondary analyses of qualitative and quantitative data from completed studies conducted in Australia, Canada and USA. Case studies and matrices were used, along with face-to-face group retreats, using a Collaborative Reflexive Deliberative Approach.

Results: Four dimensions of teamwork were identified. The structural dimension relates to human resources and mechanisms implemented to create the foundations for teamwork. The operational dimension relates to the activities and programs conducted as part of the team's production of services. The relational dimension relates to the relationships and interactions occurring in the team. Finally, the functional dimension relates to definitions of roles and responsibilities aimed at coordinating the team's activities as well as to the shared vision, objectives and developmental activities aimed at ensuring the long-term cohesion of the team. There was a high degree of variation in the way the dimensions were addressed by reforms across the national contexts.

Conclusion: The framework enables a clearer understanding of the incremental and iterative aspects that relate to higher achievement of teamwork. Future reforms of primary care need to address higher-level dimensions of teamwork to achieve its expected outcomes.

Volume

35

Issue

3

First Page

285

Last Page

294

ISSN

1460-2229

Comments

© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmx103

Disciplines

Medical Specialties | Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

29069391

Department(s)

Department of Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine Faculty

Document Type

Article

Download

Share

COinS