Factors Influencing Perceived Multidisciplinary Team Meeting Effectiveness in Teams Addressing Work-Related...

Multidisciplinary teamwork is crucial for addressing complex health issues, including work-related respiratory diseases. In this context, perceived effectiveness of the multidisciplinary team meeting (MDTM) is critical to team viability and functioning. However, research on what makes members of multidisciplinary teams addressing work-related diseases perceive their MDTM as effective is still lacking in the literature. Therefore, for these teams, this study explored team-level and team-member-level factors perceived to shape MDTM effectiveness, and clarifies how these factors manifest across MDTM-phases.

A qualitative study combining semi-structured interviews and MDTM-observations was conducted. Participants were members of Dutch multidisciplinary teams addressing work-related respiratory diseases. Interviews focused on team functioning (team factors) and individual team member characteristics (team member factors). Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and organized across MDTM-phases identified through observations.

Eight MDTM team members were interviewed and two team meetings were observed. Twelve themes perceived to influence MDTM-effectiveness were identified. For the pre-MDTM phase, team preparation, social safety and openness, and guided online participation (team factors), and anticipated benefits of participating in the MDTM (team member factor), were preconditions for perceived team effectiveness. For the patient discussion phase, patient case accuracy, expertise, constructive information flow, guidance for inclusion, and decision clarity (team factors), and respect (team member factor), were found important factors for perceived team effectiveness. For the post-MDTM phase, team reflections on positive MDTM output (team factor) and individual team member reflections on benefits of participation in the MDTM (team member factor) were perceived to motivate and therefore to contribute to MDTM-effectiveness.

Team-level factors, and team-member-level factors, perceived to influence MDTM -effectiveness in multidisciplinary teams addressing work-related respiratory diseases have successfully been retrieved and identified. The findings suggest that both team organization and individual team member features contribute to how MDTMs are experienced and valued, and the study insights present multidisciplinary teams addressing work-related respiratory diseases insights and ways for optimizing their MDTM- practices.