Inter-professional Team Collaboration among Health Care Team Members in Critical Care Units: Targeting Cooperating, Coordinating, and Partnership in Najaf Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Inter-professional collaboration (IPC) among the health care team in critical care units is essential for delivering high-quality and safe care for patients and getting the desired health care outcome for patients. In Critical Care Units (ICU and CCU), an IPC approach comprises cooperation, coordination, and partnership among healthcare specialists from different disciplines to deliver thorough and patient-centred care to critically ill patients Objective: Determining the level of IPC among health care team members in ICUs and CCUs. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design that targeted (n = 364) nurses, physicians, and clinical pharmacists in ICUs and CCUs, The Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale II (AITCS-II), was employed in this study. Results: The IPC level among health care team members in ICUs and CCUs was substandard. The partnership domain was weak with a mean score (MS) of 2.31, cooperation was moderate with a MS of 2.51, and coordination was weak with a MS of 2.17. The overall ICP was poor with a MS of 2.33. Conclusion: As hypothesised, the overall IPC covering all three main domains (partnership, cooperation, and coordination) among health care team members in critical care units is substandard. It is imperative for Iraqi nursing colleges to prioritise educating their students on inter-professional collaboration and its significance in delivering quality patient care. Instilling a clear understanding of their roles in healthcare among students is vital to cultivating a culture of teamwork and its advantageous outcomes for both patients and healthcare teams. Nurses should engage in specialised workshops that focus on professional collaboration within healthcare settings to reinforce and build upon their academic knowledge of their crucial role(s). This may help in improving their interprofessional teamwork, leading to better patient care. Consequently, inter-professional Team Collaboration among Health Care Team Members in Critical Care Units fosters a supportive work environment marked by harmony and devoid of conflicts that could harm patient well-being.