Interdisciplinary Teams and Collaboration in a Long Term Care Facility

Abstract

The purposes of this qualitative study were to discover what influences collaboration had on an interdisciplinary team practicing in a rural Midwestern long-term -care facility, to discover what factors influence collaboration, and to discover what barriers can hinder collaboration for the interdisciplinary team practicing in this facility. In this descriptive, qualitative study, eleven semi-structured in-depth interviews were completed, and a constant comparative method of data analysis was used. The categories that emerged from the data analysis were (a) chronic health conditions, (b) collaboration, (c) communication, (d) expectations, (e) influences that enhance collaboration, and (f) influences that are barriers to collaboration. Influences that enhance collaboration fell into the following subcategories: (a) communion (sharing), (b) community (connectedness), (c) independence, (d) problem-solving, (e) responsibility, and (f) synergism. Barriers to collaboration had eight subcategories: (a) unresolved factors, (b) feelings of isolation, (c) interrelationships, (d) lack of understanding, (e) minimum data set (MDS) and Medicare, (f) physician’s role, (g) unmet expectations, and (h) end-of-life. Themes related to the categories were then discussed. Collaboration is an important and significant factor in a nurse practitioner’s role. Effective collaboration can enhance the knowledge and skills of a nurse practitioner and enhance the relationship of the nurse practitioner with all members of the interdisciplinary team, including the patient