What matters in low-threshold collaboration? Perceptions of interprofessional collaboration between education and social and healthcare professionals in Finnish primary schools

ABSTRACT

This study examined the factors linked to low-threshold interprofessional collaboration in the context of Finnish primary schools. The main purpose of the study was to analyze how education and health and social care professionals perceived their mutual collaboration. The PINCOM-Q scale was used to identify factors related to interprofessional collaboration in professionals’ work settings. The results indicate that individual factors such as work motivation and personal power are prominent in low-threshold collaboration. At the group level, communication has an important role to play in interprofessional collaboration. Professionals (n = 204) perceived mutual exchange of information as an important aspect of working together. The aspects that matter in the low-threshold mode of interprofessional collaboration are a complex combination of individual, group and less obvious organizational factors, all of which both reflect and are reflected in an individual’s motivation and commitment to cooperation. The establishment of long-term and systematic low-threshold, interprofessional collaboration presupposes that individual interests are realized in good interaction in equal encounters between different organizational domains.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaboration mode
• interprofessional collaboration
• PINCOM-Q
• primary school

Acknowledgments

Associate prof. Minna Sauniola from LUT University is acknowledged of her help in the interpretation of the statistical results. M.Sc. Samuli Koponen is acknowledged of his support in the use of the statistical methods.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Tiina Timperi

Tiina Anneli Timperi is a PhD student in Social science at the University of Eastern Finland. In the current study, Timperi was responsible data collection, analysis and manuscript.

Riitta H. Vornanen

Riitta H. Vornanen is a professor in Social Work at the University of Eastern Finland. Prof. Vornanen contributed in planning of the research, supervising it and commenting of the manuscript.

Kati Kasanen

Kati Kasanen is a senior university lecturer in Education and Psychology. Dr. Kasanen contributed in planning of the research, supervising it and commenting of the manuscript.

Kaarina Mönkkönen

Kaarina Mönkkönen is a senior university lecturer in Social Work at the University of Eastern Finland. Dr. Mönkkönen contributed in planning of the research, supervising it and commenting of the manuscript.