Reflections on interdisciplinary collaboration in the new millennium: perspectives and challenges

The status of teachers' collaboration in Ethiopian public universities found in the Amhara region

Research findings on the issue of teachers' collaboration in Ethiopian higher education institutions are limited. The main objective of this study was to examine the status of teachers' collaboration in Ethiopian public universities found in the Amhara region. In addition, this study also aimed at comparing the status of teachers' collaboration among the four generations of Ethiopian public universities found in the Amhara Region. Using a convergent parallel mixed design, data were collected from teachers, department heads, and academic deans through questionnaires and interviews using a multistage stratified sampling procedure. Four universities were selected from the ten public universities after stratifying them into four categories based on generations. From the sampled universities, 250 participants were selected randomly to complete a self-administered questionnaire. In addition, 8 teachers, 4 department heads, and 4 academic deans were selected using the purposive sampling technique for the interview. The quantitative data collected through a close-ended questionnaire were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA, and the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Finally, the qualitative and quantitative results were blended to compare or relate to each other. The findings of this study revealed that university teachers found in the Amhara region were moderately collaborative in information sharing and informal collaborations/collegial relationships. However, teachers' collaboration in professional activities seems unsatisfactory. The result of this research also indicated that there is a significant difference across the four generations of universities. Hence, Ethiopian public universities found in the Amhara region should give adequate attention to strengthening collaboration among teachers in professional activities.

Knowledge and attitude toward interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in teaching hospitals in South East Nigeria

Background

Interdisciplinary team working could facilitate the efficient provision and coordination of increasingly diverse health services, thereby improving the quality of patient care. The purpose of this study was to describe knowledge of interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in two teaching hospitals in South East Nigeria and to determine their attitude toward an interdisciplinary collaborative approach to patient care in these institutions.

Methods

This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 17.0 for Windows.

Results

In total, 116 doctors participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 31.9±7.0 (range 22–51) years. Approximately 74% of respondents were aware of the concept of interdisciplinary team working. Approximately 15% of respondents who were aware of the concept of interdisciplinary team working had very good knowledge of it; 52% had good knowledge and 33% had poor knowledge. Twenty-nine percent of knowledgeable respondents reported ever receiving formal teaching/training on interdisciplinary team working in the course of their professional development. About 78% of those aware of team working believed that interdisciplinary teams would be useful in obstetrics and gynecology practice in Nigeria, with 89% stating that it would be very useful. Approximately 77% of those aware of team working would support establishment and implementation of interdisciplinary teams at their centers.

Conclusion

There was a high degree of knowledge of the concept and a positive attitude toward interdisciplinary team working among obstetricians and gynecologists in the study centers. This suggests that the attitude of physicians may not be an impediment to implementation of a collaborative interdisciplinary approach to clinical care in the study centers.

Interdisciplinary collaboration applied to clinical research: an example of remote monitoring in lung transplantation

Collaboration across disciplines is vital in clinical practice. It is also needed to generate high-quality actionable research, yet few frameworks for interdisciplinary collaboration exit to promote effective communications among researchers with common goals, but varied backgrounds. A review of what has been learned about collaboration was undertaken to determine attributes of effective interdisciplinary collaboration and barriers to its realization in patients undergoing lung transplantation.

[Factors explaining the application of the law of patient autonomy by surgical staff]

OBJECTIVE

To examine which contextual factors explain the implementation of the Patient Autonomy Law (LAP) by professionals involved in the surgical process.

METHODS

A descriptive cross sectional study survey. It was conducted at the Hospital Virgen Macarena in Seville with the surgical staff. Dependent variable: the application of LAP.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

the perception of socio-structural organizational characteristics according to Kanter's model (organizational culture, sociopolitical support, access to information, and access to resources), the perception of interprofessional collaboration, and knowledge of the LAP. We performed exploratory analysis, bivariate with parametric and nonparametric tests depending on the nature of the distributions; simple regression to determine the weight of each explanatory variable on the application of the LAP and, multiples introducing in the models those variables that had obtained significant regression coefficients. The analysis performed with a confidence level of 95%.

RESULTS

PARTICIPANTS

170 professionals (response rate: 60.28%). Behaviour according to the LAP is present in a medium-high level among physicians and nurses. Significant differences were observed in the application of the LAP according to the different sociolaboral variables and considering medical staff, the working environment and the specialty. Multiple regression analyses revealed the relationship between the application of the LAP and interprofessional collaboration, in physicians.

CONCLUSIONS

Kanter's model and the scale of interprofessional collaboration, may contribute to the explanation of the influence of the hospital context in the implementation of the LAP and the results may guide us when designing strategies to implement the law. It would be necessary to overcome the traditional structures and create decentralized and flexible conditions that encourage teamwork and shared decision making.

Concept analysis of interdisciplinary collaboration

PURPOSE

The study aims to explore the meaning of interdisciplinary collaboration within the context of health care.

ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK

Rodgers' Evolutionary View of Concept Analysis was employed to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of interdisciplinary collaboration.

METHODS

Utilizing an inductive approach, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken in August 2007 to clarify the current use of interdisciplinary collaboration in health care.

FINDINGS

Interdisciplinary collaboration is commonly described using the terms problem-focused process, sharing, and working together. The elements that must be in place before interdisciplinary collaboration can be successful are interprofessional education, role awareness, interpersonal relationship skills, deliberate action, and support. Consequences of interdisciplinary collaboration are beneficial for the patient, the organization, and the healthcare provider.

CONCLUSIONS

A comprehensive definition of interdisciplinary collaboration within the context of health care is presented as an outcome of this analysis. It is recommended that further inquiry in this area focus on the development of valid measures to accurately evaluate interdisciplinary collaboration in health care.

Grief--peer dynamics: understanding experiences with pediatric multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, and often debilitating disease of the central nervous system, for which there is no cure. This article provides insight into the experiences of adolescents with MS and the role of their peer relationships. Through the use of grounded theory, a preliminary theoretical model was developed for understanding the psychosocial experiences of these adolescents. Central to this framework is the interplay between the adolescents' grief and their peer relationships. Social, emotional, and cognitive manifestations of grief were expressed in response to the loss of health. Cyclical movements through grief and acceptance were demonstrated as the adolescents experienced a variety of secondary losses. Dynamic peer relationships either facilitated or impeded this process. Insight can be garnered from this study for further research and the development of multidisciplinary resources for this unique group of adolescents.

The determinants of successful collaboration: a review of theoretical and empirical studies

Successful collaboration in health care teams can be attributed to numerous elements, including processes at work in interpersonal relationships within the team (the interactional determinants), conditions within the organization (the organizational determinants), and the organization's environment (the systemic determinants). Through a review of the literature, this article presents a tabulated compilation of each of these determinant types as identified by empirical research and identifies the main characteristics of these determinants according to the conceptual work. We then present a "showcase" of recent Canadian policy initiatives--The Canadian Health Transition Fund (HTF)--to illustrate how the various categories of determinants can be mobilized. The literature review reveals that very little of the empirical work has dealt with determinants of interprofessional collaboration in health, particularly its organizational and systemic determinants. Furthermore, our overview of experience at the Canadian HTF suggests that a systemic approach should be adopted in evaluative research on the determinants of effective collaborative practice.