Why the Interdisciplinary Team Approach Works: Insights from Complexity Science

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Healthcare Management
• Systems Theory

Background:

• Interdisciplinary approaches are best practice for end-of-life and palliative care (PC).
• Healthcare organizations face cost containment pressures impacting resource-intensive PC services.
• Tension exists between organizational financial needs and comprehensive PC provision.

Purpose of the Study:

• Support the interdisciplinary team (IDT) approach in PC.
• View organizations, teams, patients, and families as complex adaptive systems.
• Explore experiences, roles, and attributes of PC healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 PC HCPs.
• Grounded theory methodology for transcription and review.
• Iterative qualitative approach (deductive and inductive) to identify themes.

Main Results:

• Positive team/patient experiences linked to individual attributes (self-awareness, inquiry, humility, comfort with dying).
• IDT attributes like shared purpose, relational coordination, holistic thinking, trust, and respect for autonomy are crucial.
• Professional and personal motivations positively influence team/patient experiences.

Conclusions:

• Interdisciplinary PC teams significantly impact seriously ill patients' and teams' experiences.
• Interventions should prioritize relationship building.
• Applying complex systems theory to team development is recommended.