Contributions of team climate in the study of interprofessional collaboration: A conceptual analysis

Abstract

The concept of team climate is widely used to understand and evaluate working environments. It shares some important features with Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC). The four-factor theory of climate for work group innovation, which underpins team climate, could provide a better basis for understanding both teamwork and IPC. This article examines in detail the common ground between team climate and IPC, and assesses the relevance of team climate as a theoretical approach to understanding IPC. There are important potential areas of overlap between team climate and IPC that we have grouped under four headings: (1) interaction and communication between team members; (2) common objectives around which collective work is organised; (3) responsibility for performing work to a high standard; and (4) promoting innovation in working practices. These overlapping areas suggest common characteristics that could provide elements of a framework for considering the contribution of team climate to collaborative working, both from a conceptual perspective and, potentially, in operational terms as, for example, a diagnostic tool.

Organizational climate and teamwork at the Family Health Strategy

“…The word "team" is strongly associated with the accomplishment of tasks; activities shared between different people and collectively achieve the idealized results. Therefore, the team concept refers to a set of individuals that interact with each other, seeking a common goal, adding to the work process specific knowledge of each of its members, with the aim of building an empowered agreement (4) .…”

“…According to the FHS proposal, teamwork should prioritize effective communication among its members, so that its members can act jointly and continuously in performing daily tasks. Other important characteristics of this proposal are multiprofessional work, assessment of the diagnosis of the real needs of the population, joint planning of actions, sharing in the decisions, synchronized participation of all and encouragement to the exercise of social control (4) .…”

Trabalho em equipe e prática colaborativa na Atenção Primária à Saúde

“…It is believed that the study of teamwork climate is capable of providing insights about professional relationships, teamwork organization, and aspects of interprofessional collaboration. According to Agreli et al 32 , teamwork climate and interprofessional collaboration have four conceptual elements in common:…”

Care coordination in Health Care for the child/adolescent in chronic condition

“…This situation is worrying, since communication and the exchange of information represented critical functions of the system of interaction between family members and health teams, necessary for the construction of care projects, capable of integrating the different purposes of the work in the points that make up the RAS. Therefore, there is a need not only for the organization of communication between services, but also for the communication of professionals from the same team, from an interprofessional perspective (34) .…”