The perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding interprofessional collaboration among three tertiary hospitals in the Tshwane district, Gauteng

Abstract

Healthcare professionals' perspectives on interprofessional collaboration differ, although structured organisational environments and professional relationships remain essential for quality healthcare. We aimed to determine healthcare professionals' perspectives regarding interprofessional collaboration in tertiary hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa. Healthcare professionals older than 18 participated in this cross-sectional survey, conducted in Tshwane district. Snowball sampling recruited registered healthcare professionals who worked more than a week at the participating hospitals. A Google link with a consent form and questionnaire was shared with departmental heads to share with their co-workers; 77 people completed the questionnaires. All ethical principles were followed. Statistical Package for Social Science version-27 analysed data. A five-point Likert scale determined perspectives of healthcare professionals’ level of collaboration. A signed-rank test determined the significant difference between hospitals' personal and organisational factors. The participants perceived personal relationships among healthcare professionals as better than the organisational environment in interprofessional collaboration. The organisational environment requires improvement for better collaboration.