How to achieve effective teamwork: the view of mental health professionals

Abstract

Background/aims: the nature of multidisciplinary teamwork in mental health care is diverse and complex. However, effective teamwork is still one of the main means to achieve the expected outcomes in the mental health field. Since teamwork requires face-to-face relationships, it is important to sharing meanings to provide effective care. This study aimed to explore how mental health professionals describe teamwork and to reveal difficulties they face and provide solutions from their own professional standpoint.Materials and methods: this exploratory qualitative study was conducted at psychiatry departments of three university hospitals. The critical case technique was used as a purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 health professionals, including psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and psychologists who worked at psychiatric inpatient units. Thematic analysis was applied in data evaluation. Results: the themes were categorized under three headings: concepts, barriers, and suggestions. Sharing the tasks and mutual acceptance of roles were the factors most stated as necessary for achieving effective teamwork in the inpatient unit. Avoidance to take responsibilily, strict hierarchy, underestimating the roles of other team members, personalization of problems, an inadequate number and qualification of staff, and a rapid staff turnover were remarkable obstacles. Participants stressed the importance of a work environment that focuses on the needs of patients and open communication. Conclusion: in this study, we tried to explain the subjective dimension of the possible reasons of the failure to achieve teamwork in mental health care provision. The findings suggest that mental health professionals used similar concepts when explaining teamwork. However, they had different ideas about how to shape and conduct teamwork.