Informational role self-efficacy: a validation in interprofessional collaboration contexts involving healthcare service and project teams

Relationship between readiness for interprofessional learning and academic self-efficacy among nursing students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Modern medicine emphasizes that medical professionals engage in interprofessional collaboration to better meet the diverse needs of patients from physical, psychological, and social perspectives. As nursing students are the future reserve of the clinical nursing workforce, nursing educators worldwide should pay close attention to nursing students' interprofessional learning attitudes and take responsibility for training qualified interprofessional nursing personnel. However, little is known about the relationship between nursing students' readiness for interprofessional learning and academic self-efficacy. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level of readiness for interprofessional learning and academic self-efficacy among nursing students, and to explore the relationship between the two.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 741 undergraduate nursing students pursuing four-year degrees from a school in Jinan, Shandong Province, China from November to December 2021. The social-demographic questionnaire, Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, and Academic Self-efficacy Scale were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics used to analyze the data included: Cronbach's alpha, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

Readiness for interprofessional learning mean score was (3.91 ± 0.44) and mean academic self-efficacy was (3.47 ± 0.42). Significant differences were found in the research variables according to participants' sex, grade, choice of nursing profession, and frequency of communication with health-related major students in studies (p < 0.05, p < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis showed that academic self-efficacy was positively related to readiness for interprofessional learning (r = 0.316, p < 0.01). The hierarchical regression analysis showed that academic self-efficacy was positively related to readiness for interprofessional learning (β = 0.307, p < 0.001), The model explained 15.6% of the variance in readiness for interprofessional learning (F = 18.038, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Readiness for interprofessional learning and academic self-efficacy were in the middle level among nursing students. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the two. Therefore, it is very important for nursing educators to improve nursing students' academic self-efficacy before improving their readiness for interprofessional learning.

Exploring differences in and factors influencing self-efficacy for competence in interprofessional collaborative practice among health professions students

The value of health care delivered via effective interprofessional teams has created an imperative for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP). To inform IPE strategies, we investigated differences in perceived self-efficacy (SE) for competence in ICP among health professions students. The study data were collected between 2015 and 2019 from students from 13 different health professions programmes (N = 3,497) before an annual institutional interprofessional programme. Students completed the IPECC-SET-27, a validated instrument evaluating perceived SE for competence in ICP, and rated their 1) amount of previous contact with, and 2) perceived understanding of, the role of different health professions. Students in different health professions education programmes were compared using parametric statistics. Regression analyses explored factors influencing SE for competence in ICP. Findings revealed significant differences in perceived SE for competence in ICP between programmes (p < .05). Specifically, health information management/health informatics, dentistry, medicine, and nursing students expressed relatively higher SE, whereas physical therapy and occupational therapy students expressed relatively lower SE. Perceived understanding of the role of health professions (p < .01) and gender (p < .01) contributed significantly to predicting perceived SE for competence in ICP, while the amount of previous contact with other health professions did not (p = .42). The findings highlight the value of designing IPE with consideration of specific learner needs.

Job performance in healthcare: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Healthcare organisations face major challenges to keep healthcare accessible and affordable. This requires them to transform and improve their performance. To do so, organisations must influence employee job performance. Therefore, it is necessary to know what the key dimensions of job performance in healthcare are and how these dimensions can be improved. This study has three aims. The first aim is to determine what key dimensions of job performance are discussed in the healthcare literature. The second aim is to determine to which professionals and healthcare organisations these dimensions of job performance pertain. The third aim is to identify factors that organisations can use to affect the dimensions of job performance in healthcare.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The authors searched Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Books, which resulted in the identification of 763 records. After screening 92 articles were included.

RESULTS

The dimensions - task, contextual, and adaptative performance and counterproductive work behaviour - are reflected in the literature on job performance in healthcare. Adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour appear to be under-researched. The studies were conducted in different healthcare organisations and pertain to a variety of healthcare professionals. Organisations can affect job performance on the macro-, meso-, and micro-level to achieve transformation and improvement.

CONCLUSION

Based on more than 90 studies published in over 70 journals, the authors conclude that job performance in healthcare can be conceptualised into four dimensions: task, contextual and adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behaviour. Generally, these dimensions correspond with the dimensions discussed in the job performance literature. This implies that these dimensions can be used for further research into job performance in healthcare. Many healthcare studies on job performance focus on two dimensions: task and contextual performance. However, adaptive performance, which is of great importance in constantly changing environments, is under-researched and should be examined further in future research. This also applies to counterproductive work behaviour. To improve job performance, interventions are required on the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, which relate to governance, leadership, and individual skills and characteristics.

Healthcare professionals' longitudinal perceptions of group phenomena as determinants of self-assessed learning in organizational communities of practice

BACKGROUND

Given the importance of continuous learning as a response to the increasing complexity of health care practice, there is a need to better understand what makes communities of practice in health effective at fostering learning. Despite the conceptual stance that communities of practice facilitate individual learning, the scientific literature does not offer much evidence for this. Known factors associated with the effectiveness of communities of practice - such as collaboration, psychological safety within the community, and commitment to the community - have been studied in cross-sectional qualitative designs. However, no studies to date have used a quantitative predictive design. The objective of this study is to assess how members of a community of practice perceive interactions among themselves and determine the extent to which these interactions predict self-assessed learning over time.

METHODS

Data was collected using validated questionnaires from six communities of practice (N = 83) in four waves of measures over the course of 36 months and was analysed by means of General Estimating Equations. This allowed to build a longitudinal model of the associations between perceptions of collaboration, psychological safety within the community, commitment to the community and self-assessed learning over time.

RESULTS

Perception of collaboration in the community of practice, a personal sense of psychological safety and a commitment to the community of practice are predictors longitudinally associated with self-assessed learning.

CONCLUSIONS

In terms of theory, conceptual links can be made between intensity of collaboration and learning over time in the context of a community of practice. Recent work on psychological safety suggests that it is still unclear whether psychological safety acts as a direct enhancer of learning or as a remover of barriers to learning. This study's longitudinal results suggest that psychological safety may enhance how and to what extent professionals feel they learn over time. Commitment towards the community of practice is a strong predictor of learning over time, which hints at differential effects of affective, normative and continuance commitment. Communities of practice can therefore apply these findings by making collaboration, psychological safety, commitment and learning regular reflexive topics of discussion.

Tenacious team, precarious patient: A phenomenological inquiry into interprofessional collaboration during ICU resuscitations

AIMS

The study aims to explore the lived experiences of interprofessional collaboration among ICU nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists in managing resuscitations in the ICUs.

DESIGN

Descriptive phenomenological design, underpinned by Husserl's philosophy.

METHODS

ICU nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists who have experience in managing resuscitations with the interprofessional team were recruited through purposive sampling from April to December 2019. Sixteen ICU professionals participated in individual, semi-structured, in-depth interviews which were audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Findings were analysed using Colaizzi's 7-step analysis.

RESULTS

The essence of interprofessional collaboration during resuscitations can be described in four main themes. 'Ruminating about professional boundaries' signifies how ICU professionals acknowledged the roles and boundaries that surrounded their scope of practice during resuscitations. 'Rallying the interprofessional team' illustrates how the interprofessional team rapidly band together amongst the aid and hindrance of contextual enablers and inhibitors. 'Responding to interprofessional conflicts' depicts how intra- and interprofessional tensions can occur during resuscitations that can impact patient safety. 'Reaching collective leadership' proposes enhanced resuscitation care through the collective leadership of the interprofessional team.

CONCLUSION

Resuscitations represent a precarious turn of events for the critically ill patient where the interprofessional team undergoes a cyclic sequence of teamwork and conflict while attempting to drive the resuscitation into a positive outcome. As ICU professionals attempt to optimise interprofessional collaboration during resuscitations, findings call for enhanced team training initiatives encompassing the interprofessional team, with an emphasis on collective leadership.

IMPACT

ICU professionals experience of interprofessional collaboration during resuscitations is poorly understood. By understanding their lived experience, targeted interventions to improve interprofessional collaboration can be conceptualised and implemented. Findings will set pace for future evaluation research on interprofessional collaboration and patient outcomes during resuscitations.

The role of gender, profession and informational role self-efficacy in physician-nurse knowledge sharing and decision-making

While gender and professional status influence how decisions are made, the role played by health care professionals' informational role self-efficacy appears as a central construct fostering participation in decision-making. The goal of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of how gender and profession affect the role of self-efficacy in sharing expertise and decision-making. Validated questionnaires were answered by a cross-sectional sample of 108 physicians and nurses working in mental health care teams. A moderated mediation analysis was performed. Results reveal that the impact of sharing knowledge on informational role self-efficacy is negative for nurses. Being a nurse negatively affects the relation between informational role self-efficacy and participating in decision-making. Informational role self-efficacy is also a strong positive predictor of participation in decision-making for male physicians but less so for female physicians.

A multilevel study of patient-centered care perceptions in mental health teams

Background

The successful combination of interprofessional collaboration in multidisciplinary teams with patient-centered care is necessary when it comes to delivering complex mental health services. Yet collaboration is challenging and patient-centered care is intricate to manage. This study examines correlates of patient-centered care such as team adaptivity and proactivity, collaboration, belief in interprofessional collaboration and informational role self-efficacy in multidisciplinary mental health teams.

Method

A cross-sectional multilevel survey design was used, based on self-administered bilingual validated questionnaires. Participants (N=314) were mental health professionals and managers working in public primary care or specialized mental health services, in inpatient or outpatient settings.

Results

This study showed that belief in interprofessional collaboration’s relationship with patient-centered perceptions is increased in teams with high collaboration. Collaboration is also found as a mediator, representing a process by which team adaptive and proactive behaviors are transformed into positive patient-centered perceptions.

Conclusions

Our results were in line with recent studies on team processes establishing that collaboration is a key component in multilevel examinations of predictors of patient-centered care. In terms of practice, our study showed that multidisciplinary teams should know that working hard on collaboration is an answer to the complexity of patient-centered care. Collaboration is related to the teams’ ability to respond to its challenges. It is also related to individuals’ beliefs central to the delivery of interprofessional care.

Student Perspectives of Interprofessional Group Debriefing: Use of the National League for Nursing Guide for Teaching Thinking

ABSTRACT

This innovative pilot study used the Critical conversations: The NLN Guide for Teaching Thinking monograph to promote critical conversation during debriefing in an interprofessional education group setting following a disaster preparedness simulation. Interprofessional health care students (n = 120) participated in the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare survey as well as four focus groups to understand student perspectives related to the Context, Content, and Course format used to cocreate meaning related to the simulation experience. Findings revealed that use of this method promoted critical dialogue underscored by self-efficacy, critical reflection, safety, group size, and interdisciplinary learning.

Variables associated with interprofessional collaboration: a comparison between primary healthcare and specialized mental health teams

BACKGROUND

This study has two aims: first, to identify variables associated with interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among a total of 315 Quebec mental health (MH) professionals working in MH primary care teams (PCTs, N = 101) or in specialized service teams (SSTs, N = 214); and second, to compare IPC associated variables in MH-PCTs vs MH-SSTs.

METHODS

A large number of variables acknowledged as strongly related to IPC in the literature were tested. Multivariate regression models were performed on MH-PCTs and MH-SSTs respectively.

RESULTS

Results showed that knowledge integration, team climate and multifocal identification were independently and positively associated with IPC in both MH-PCTs and MH-SSTs. By contrast, knowledge sharing was positively associated with IPC in MH-PCTs only, and organizational support positively associated with IPC in MH-SSTs. Finally, one variable (age) was significantly and negatively associated with IPC in SSTs.

CONCLUSIONS

Improving IPC and making MH teams more successful require the development and implementation of differentiated professional skills in MH-PCTs and MH-SSTs by care managers depending upon the level of care required (primary or specialized). Training is also needed for the promotion of interdisciplinary values and improvement of interprofessional knowledge regarding IPC.

Cross-Disciplinary Care: A Systematic Review on Teamwork Processes in Health Care

As health care delivery moves toward more complex, team-based systems, the topic of medical teamwork has gained considerable attention and study across disciplines. This systematic review integrates empirical research on teamwork and health care to identify broad trends. We identified and coded 1,818 relevant, English, and peer-reviewed journal articles using a teamwork processes rubric. Several themes emerged. The health care teamwork literature has grown substantially over the past 20 years. Approximately half of the studies were descriptive (rather than interventional or psychometric); the majority relied on quantitative methods. Health care teamwork was also studied in thematically distinct manners. Interpersonal processes were most commonly studied across fields. Of all disciplines, medicine focused most on transition processes, whereas those from team science centered more highly on action processes. There were also finer grained disciplinary differences in content areas of communication and collaboration. Interprofessional journals represent a potential area for interdisciplinary efforts. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Challenges to and Resources for Participation in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Perceptions of Collegiate Athletic Trainers

CONTEXT

Health care systems are increasing their emphasis on interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) as a necessary component to patient care. However, information regarding the challenges athletic trainers (ATs) perceive with respect to participating in IPCP is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To describe collegiate ATs' perceptions of challenges to and resources for participation in IPCP.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

College and university.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

The response rate was 8% (513 ATs [234 men, 278 women, 1 preferred not to disclose sex], years in clinical practice = 10.69 ± 9.33).

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Responses to survey-based, open-ended questions were collected through Qualtrics. A general inductive qualitative approach was used to analyze data and establish relevant themes and categories for responses. Multianalyst coding and an external auditor confirmed coding saturation and assisted in triangulation.

RESULTS

Challenges were reported in the areas of needing a defined IPCP team structure, respect for all involved health care parties, and concerns when continuity of care was compromised. Communication was reported as both a perceived challenge and a resource. Specific resources seen as beneficial to effective participation in IPCP included communication mechanisms such as shared patient health records and educational opportunities with individuals from other health care professions.

CONCLUSIONS

As ATs become more integrated into IPCP, they need to accurately describe and advocate their roles, understand the roles of others, and be open to the dynamic needs of team-based care. Development of continuing interprofessional education opportunities for all relevant members of the health care team can help to delineate roles more effectively and provide more streamlined care with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Work-related variables associated with perceptions of recovery-oriented care among Quebec mental health professionals

BACKGROUND

Provider working conditions are important in mental health service delivery.

AIMS

To identify variables associated with perceived recovery-oriented care among mental health professionals.

METHOD

A total of 315 mental health professionals and 41 managers across four Quebec service networks completed questionnaires. Univariate and multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions for bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using independent variables from the input-mediator-output-input model and recovery-oriented care.

RESULTS

Recovery-oriented care related to: working in primary care or out-patient mental health services, team support, team interdependence, prevalence of individuals with suicide ideation, knowledge-sharing, team reflexivity, trust, vision (a subset of team climate), belief in multidisciplinary collaboration and frequency of interaction with other organisations.

CONCLUSIONS

Optimising team processes (for example knowledge-sharing) and emergent states (for example trust) may enhance recovery-oriented care. Adequate financial and other resources, stable team composition, training on recovery best practices and use of standardised assessment tools should be promoted, while strengthening primary care and interactions with other organisations.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

None.

Variables associated with job satisfaction among mental health professionals

Recent mental health (MH) reforms have had a sharp impact on practices among MH professionals. A deeper understanding of factors contributing to their job satisfaction, in this context, may help improve quality and continuity of care. The purpose of this study was to identify variables associated with job satisfaction for 315 MH professionals in Quebec (Canada) after implementation of wide-ranging MH reforms. Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were conceptualized within five domains: 1) Professional Characteristics, 2) Team Attributes, 3) Team Processes, 4) Team Emergent States, and 5) Organizational Culture. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Job satisfaction was significantly associated with absence of team conflict, stronger team support, better team collaboration, greater member involvement in the decision-making process (Team Processes), Affective commitment toward the team (Team Emergent States), as well as lack of a market/rational culture (Organizational Culture). Job satisfaction was strongly related to team processes and, to a lesser extent, team emergent states.

Variables associated with interprofessional collaboration: The case of professionals working in Quebec local mental health service networks

This study identified variables associated with interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among 315 mental health (MH) professionals working in primary health care (PHC) and specialized teams, within four Quebec (Canada) local service networks (LSNs). IPC was measured with a validated scale, and independent variables were organized according to a four-block conceptual framework that included Individual, Interactional, Organizational and Professional Role Characteristics. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Five variables were associated with Interactional Characteristics (knowledge sharing, knowledge integration, affective commitment toward the team, team climate, team autonomy), and one variable with Professional Role (multifocal identification) and Individual Characteristics (age), respectively. Findings suggest the importance of positive team climate, knowledge sharing and knowledge integration, professional and team identification (multifocal identification), team commitment and autonomy for strengthening IPC in MH teams. These results suggest that team managers should remain alert to behavioral changes and tensions in their teams that could signal possible deterioration in IPC, while promoting IPC competencies, and interdisciplinary values and skills, in team activities and training programs. As well, the encouragement of team commitment on the part of senior professionals, and support toward their younger counterparts, may enhance IPC in teams.

Perceptions of Interprofessional and Collaborative Practice in Collegiate Athletic Trainers

CONTEXT

  The ability to engage in interprofessional and collaborative practice (IPCP) has been identified as one of the Institute of Medicine's core competencies required of all health care professionals.

OBJECTIVE

  To determine the perceptions of athletic trainers (ATs) in the collegiate setting regarding IPCP and current practice patterns.

DESIGN

  Cross-sectional study.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

  Of 6313 ATs in the collegiate setting, 739 (340 men, 397 women, 2 preferred not to answer; clinical experience = 10.97 ± 9.62 years) responded (11.7%).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

  The Online Clinician Perspectives of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice survey section 1 assessed ATs' perceptions of working with other professionals (construct 1), ATs engaged in collaborative practice (construct 2), influences of collaborative practice (construct 3), and influences on roles, responsibilities, and autonomy in collaborative practice (construct 4). Section 2 assessed current practice patterns of ATs providing patient care and included the effect of communication on collaborative practice (construct 5) and patient involvement in collaborative practice (construct 6). Between-groups differences were assessed using a Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U tests ( P < .05).

RESULTS

  Athletic trainers in the collegiate setting agreed with IPCP constructs 1 through 4 (construct 1 = 3.56 ± 0.30, construct 2 = 3.36 ± 0.467, construct 3 = 3.48 ± 0.39, construct 4 = 3.20 ± 0.35) and indicated that the concepts of constructs 5 and 6 (1.99 ± 0.46, 1.80 ± 0.50, respectively) were sometimes true in their setting. Athletic trainers functioning in a medical model reported lower scores for construct 5 (1.88 ± 0.44) than did those in an athletic model (2.03 ± 0.45, U = 19 522.0, P = .001). A total of 42.09% of the ATs' patient care was performed in collaborative practice.

CONCLUSIONS

  Athletic trainers in the collegiate setting agreed that IPCP concepts were beneficial to patient care but were not consistently practicing in this manner. Consideration of a medical model structure, wherein more regular interaction with other health care professionals occurs, may be beneficial to increase the frequency of IPCP.

Associated and Mediating Variables Related to Job Satisfaction among Professionals from Mental Health Teams

Using a structural analysis, this study examines the relationship between job satisfaction among 315 mental health professionals from the province of Quebec (Canada) and a wide range of variables related to provider characteristics, team characteristics, processes, and emergent states, and organizational culture. We used the Job Satisfaction Survey to assess job satisfaction. Our conceptual framework integrated numerous independent variables adapted from the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) model and the Integrated Team Effectiveness Model (ITEM). The structural equation model predicted 47% of the variance of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was associated with eight variables: strong team support, participation in the decision-making process, closer collaboration, fewer conflicts among team members, modest knowledge production (team processes), firm affective commitment, multifocal identification (emergent states) and belonging to the nursing profession (provider characteristics). Team climate had an impact on six job satisfaction variables (team support, knowledge production, conflicts, affective commitment, collaboration, and multifocal identification). Results show that team processes and emergent states were mediators between job satisfaction and team climate. To increase job satisfaction among professionals, health managers need to pursue strategies that foster a positive climate within mental health teams.

Challenges in measuring interprofessional-interorganisational collaboration with a questionnaire

Background

Collaboration between medical professionals from separate organisations is necessary to deliver good patient care. This care is influenced by professionals’ perceptions about their collaboration. Until now, no instrument to measure such perceptions was available in the Netherlands. A questionnaire developed and validated in Spain was translated to assess perceptions about clinicians’ collaboration in primary and secondary care in the Dutch setting.

Aim

Validation in the Dutch setting of a Spanish questionnaire that aimed to assess perceptions of clinicians about interorganisational collaboration.

Design & setting

After translation, cultural adaptation, and pre-testing, the questionnaire was sent to GPs and secondary care clinicians (SCCs) in three regions in the Netherlands. The responses of 445 responders were used to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

Method

A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were performed to study the construct validity of the hypothesised factor model underlying the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using weighted Kappa statistics.

Results

Results of the CFA indicated poor fit of the hypothesised factor structure. EFA, executed separately for each region, showed a highly unstable factor structure. The test-retest reliability analysis demonstrated low re-test reliability.

Conclusion

The underlying factor structure of a Spanish questionnaire could not be reproduced. The construct validity and reliability of this questionnaire were insufficient to warrant use in the Dutch setting. This study demonstrates the need for evaluating validity and reliability of questionnaires in local settings.

Job satisfaction among mental healthcare professionals: The respective contributions of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the respective contribution of professional characteristics, team attributes, team processes, and team emergent states on the job satisfaction of 315 mental health professionals from Quebec (Canada).

Methods

Job satisfaction was measured with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were organized into four categories according to a conceptual framework inspired from the Input-Mediator-Outcomes-Input Model. The contribution of each category of variables was assessed using hierarchical regression analysis.

Results

Variations in job satisfaction were mostly explained by team processes, with minimal contribution from the other three categories. Among the six variables significantly associated with job satisfaction in the final model, four were team processes: stronger team support, less team conflict, deeper involvement in the decision-making process, and more team collaboration. Job satisfaction was also associated with nursing and, marginally, male gender (professional characteristics) as well as with a stronger affective commitment toward the team (team emergent states).

Discussion and Conclusion

Results confirm the importance for health managers of offering adequate support to mental health professionals, and creating an environment favorable to collaboration and decision-sharing, and likely to reduce conflicts between team members.

Profiles of mental health care professionals based on work role performance

The worldwide burden of mental disorders is considerable, and on the rise, putting pressure on health care systems. Current reforms aim to improve the efficiency of mental health care systems by increasing service integration in communities and strengthening primary mental health care. In this context, mental health care professionals (MHPs) are increasingly required to work on interdisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. Little is known, however, about the profiles of MHPs in relation to their perceived work role performance. MHPs in Quebec (N = 315) from four local service networks completed a self-administered questionnaire eliciting information on individual and team characteristics, as well as team processes and states. Profiles of MHPs were created using a two-step cluster analysis. Five profiles were generated. MHPs belonging to profiles labelled senior medical outpatient specialized care MHPs and senior psychosocial outpatient specialized care MHPs perceived themselves as more performing than MHPs in other profiles. The profile labelled low-collaborators was significantly less performing than all other groups. Two other profiles were identified, positioned between the aforementioned groups in terms of the perceived performance of MHPs: the junior primary care MHPs and the diversified specialized care MHPs. Seniority within the team, delivering specialized type of care, and positive team processes were all features associated with profiles where perceived work performance was high. Overall, this study supports the case for initiatives aimed at improving stability and interdisciplinary collaboration in health teams, especially in primary care.

A comparative study of job satisfaction among nurses, psychologists/psychotherapists and social workers working in Quebec mental health teams

BACKGROUND

This study identified multiple socio-professional and team effectiveness variables, based on the Input-Mediator-Output-Input (IMOI) model, and tested their associations with job satisfaction for three categories of mental health professionals (nurses, psychologists/psychotherapists, and social workers).

METHODS

Job satisfaction was assessed with the Job Satisfaction Survey. Independent variables were classified into four categories: 1) Socio-professional Characteristics; 2) Team Attributes; 3) Team Processes; and 4) Team Emergent States. Variables were entered successively, by category, into a hierarchical regression model.

RESULTS

Team Processes contributed the greatest number of variables to job satisfaction among all professional groups, including team support which was the only significant variable common to all three types of professionals. Greater involvement in the decision-making process, and lower levels of team conflict (Team Processes) were associated with job satisfaction among nurses and social workers. Lower seniority on team (Socio-professional Characteristics), and team collaboration (Team Processes) were associated with job satisfaction among nurses, as was belief in the advantages of interdisciplinary collaboration (Team Emergent States) among psychologists. Knowledge sharing (Team Processes) and affective commitment to the team (Team Emergent States) were associated with job satisfaction among social workers.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest the need for mental health decision-makers and team managers to offer adequate support to mental health professionals, to involve nurses and social workers in the decision-making process, and implement procedures and mechanisms favourable to the prevention or resolution of team conflict with a view toward increasing job satisfaction among mental health professionals.

Variables Associated With Perceived Work Role Performance Among Professionals in Multidisciplinary Mental Health Teams Overall and in Primary Care and Specialized Service Teams, Respectively

This study had a dual purpose (1) to identify variables associated with perceived work role performance (WRP) among 315 mental health professionals (MHPs) in Quebec and (2) to compare variables related to WRP in MH primary care teams (PCTs) and specialized service teams (SSTs), respectively. WRP was measured using an adapted version of the work role questionnaire. Variables were organized within five areas: individual characteristics, perceived team attributes, perceived team processes, perceived team emergent states, and geographical and organizational context. Half of the WRP variables were linked to team processes. Knowledge sharing correlated with WRP in both MH PCTs and SSTs. Team attributes had more impact on MH PCTs, while team processes and team emergent states played a larger role among SSTs. The association between WRP and knowledge sharing confirms the need for a systematic training program to promote interdisciplinary collaboration. Integration strategies (e.g., service agreements) could improve collaboration between MH PCTs and SSTs and help MHPs perform more effectively within PCTs.