Open AccessInterprofessional collaboration within teams comprised of health and other professionals: a systematic review of measurement tools and their psychometric properties
Author(s) -
Julia Jacob,
Kobie Boshoff,
Rebecca Stanley,
Hugh Stewart,
Louise Wiles
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the internet journal of allied health sciences and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1540-580X
DOI - 10.46743/1540-580x/2017.1631
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , health care , systematic review , inclusion (mineral) , health professionals , critical appraisal , set (abstract data type) , interprofessional education , medical education , psychology , nursing , medline , medicine , computer science , alternative medicine , political science , law , paleontology , social psychology , pathology , economics , biology , programming language , economic growth
Background and Purpose: Measuring collaboration within interprofessional teams allows professionals to evaluate their practice, set benchmarks and improve outcomes. In the context of healthcare, most research has focused on teams comprised solely of health professionals, with limited attention given to collaboration between health and other professionals. Given the escalating complexities of healthcare, and the growing need for interprofessional collaborative practice involving team members external to health care, this represents a considerable gap in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to identify tools that measure collaboration within interprofessional teams comprised of members from health and other disciplines, and evaluate their psychometric properties. This review focused on the area of children’s services, to assist professionals working in this area with their collaborative practice. Methods: A systematic search including nineteen electronic databases was conducted. Eleven articles (describing ten tools) were identified for inclusion and were critically appraised. Results: Overall, it was found that few psychometrically sound tools exist for more diverse professional groups working together. The PINCOM-Q was found to be the most appropriate tool for the context of children’s services, and with the highest critical appraisal score, as reported. Conclusions: Recommendations are made for further development of existing tools before practical implementation. Further research could develop new and innovative tools to accommodate the evolving composition of future interprofessional teams.