A strategic initiative to foster interprofessional collaboration: A case report using a men’s healthy living programme

Abstract

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) can be challenging, yet it has shown benefits for providers and patients. We examined the existing enablers and barriers to IPC at a local Community Health Center (CHC) and report on the existing types of IPC practice. We also report how implementing a men-sensitive healthy living programme united a team of health professionals/managers in attending to the needs of a population that to date had been largely underserved. A total of 16 employees were interviewed at the CHC. All respondents spoke positively of existing IPC and provided examples of existing collaborative practices. These CHC professionals (clinicians and managers) experienced greater intra- and extra-organisational collaborations as a result of experiencing a community-delivered programme. It also allowed the CHC professionals/managers to rethink the management and structure of collaborative practices and understand the needs and challenges of working with non-traditional partners (men and workplace-based managers). While our findings are context sensitive (case study design), they shed light on how uniting health professionals/managers around a challenging and non-traditional health issue (i.e., improving health in a hard-to-reach population subgroup) can strategically reduce resistance to collaborative practice development by strengthening team cohesion and fostering innovative interactions.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• interprofessional collaboration
• interprofessional education
• interprofessional practice
• interviews

Acknowledgements

The authors of this manuscript would like to thank Mireille Demers, Suzanne Serresse, and Tara Paquette for their contributions to this project.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Funding

The production of this project was made possible due to the final contribution of Health Canada (CNFS-Secrétariat National and CNFS-Volet Université Laurentienne). The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the official position of Health Canada.

Notes

^1. All interviews were conducted in French; as such any quotes presented have been translated to English. Original quotes in French are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The production of this project was made possible due to the final contribution of Health Canada (CNFS-Secrétariat National and CNFS-Volet Université Laurentienne). The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the official position of Health Canada.