Research into interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has predominantly focused on health care and special-ized care settings, but there is an increasing interest in interprofesssional ‘teams around the child’ in community-based settings. We conducted a realist synthesis of empirical studies into IPC between youth professionals, often in regular community settings, to explore barriers and facilitators of IPC. Included studies were coded with an elaborated scheme to chart the focus of studies and to identify moderators and context-mechanism-outcome configurations of IPC. Professional and normative integration was the main focus of the included studies. Most studies emphasized the challenges of IPC in practice, like unclear roles of self and others, lack of trust and inadequate communication. Other perceived barriers are exclud-ing others in the planning of interventions, taking ownership of plans (vs. sharing) and different modes of communication. Interprofessional education, co-location of staff, acting as a mediator in the team, organising formal and informal meetings, conflict resolutions, self-sacrifice, and conceptualizing practice were perceived as facilitators of IPC. Future IPC research into community-based settings should include all professional stakeholders and the children and their families to evaluate outcomes at both interprofes-sional and clinical level.
Research into interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has predominantly focused on health care and special-ized care settings, but there is an increasing interest in interprofesssional ‘teams around the child’ in community-based settings. We conducted a realist synthesis of empirical studies into IPC between youth professionals, often in regular community settings, to explore barriers and facilitators of IPC. Included studies were coded with an elaborated scheme to chart the focus of studies and to identify moderators and context-mechanism-outcome configurations of IPC. Professional and normative integration was the main focus of the included studies. Most studies emphasized the challenges of IPC in practice, like unclear roles of self and others, lack of trust and inadequate communication. Other perceived barriers are exclud-ing others in the planning of interventions, taking ownership of plans (vs. sharing) and different modes of communication. Interprofessional education, co-location of staff, acting as a mediator in the team, organising formal and informal meetings, conflict resolutions, self-sacrifice, and conceptualizing practice were perceived as facilitators of IPC. Future IPC research into community-based settings should include all professional stakeholders and the children and their families to evaluate outcomes at both interprofes-sional and clinical level.
Problems with communication and collaboration among perinatal caregivers threaten the quality and safety of care given to mothers and babies. Good communication and collaboration are critical to safe care for mothers and babies. In this study the researchers focused on studies examining the factors associated with good communication and collaboration as they occur in working routines in maternity care practice. Their study is part of a growing trend of identifying the positive aspects of communication and collaboration in maternity care.
MULTIFILE
