Healthcare systems are challenged to provide safe, effective, patientcentered care in an ever-changing environment. Studies show that lack of teamwork, communication, and collaboration may contribute to adverse patient and health outcomes (Manojlovich, (2009; Weaver et al., 2014, Jones, Skinner, High, & Reiter-Palmon, 2013). Consequently, more healthcare systems are launching team-training programs in efforts to improve clinical outcomes. Despite team-training efforts, adoption of interprofessional teamwork in practice is slow to transpire. Team training alone is not sufficient to facilitate and sustain teamwork behavior in day-to-day practice. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between key organizational supports (e.g., team climate, team-training, formalization tools) with team-functioning and patient outcomes in an urban medical teaching hospital. Few empirical studies have provided insight into the relationship between these variables. Many studies overlook the organizational context and its effect on team functioning. In this study, researchers used the short-version Team Climate Inventory (TCI-14) and the Brief TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perception Questionnaire (Brief T-TPQ) to survey 88 (73.3%) interprofessional health providers on six hospital work units. Retrospective patient-reported data (n=957) were analyzed to examine association between patient satisfaction and interprofessional teamwork. Results found a strong association between team climate and team-functioning on the six hospital work units; a small to moderate relationship between team-training intervention and interprofessional teamwork; no relationship between number of communication tools used on hospital units and team function; and no significant correlation between patient satisfaction and health provider’s perception of teamwork. However, from the patient’s experience, results showed a significant and strong interaction between interprofessional team functioning and patient’s satisfaction. This research adds to the body of knowledge supporting the relevance and implementation of interprofessional teamwork in healthcare environments in efforts to improve quality of care and patient satisfaction. Study outcomes highlight two important considerations: 1) the need for organizational supports to enhance and sustain interprofessional teamwork; and 2) the importance of recognizing the relationship between team functioning and the patient’s experience as reflected in the patient satisfaction survey.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Health Sciences
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Health care teams
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_7598
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (117 p. : ill.)
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Tracey Vause Earland
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
School of Health Related Professions ETD Collection
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10007400001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.