International Journal of Nursing Care

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the awareness of nurses about collaborative care, to identify the effects of collaborative care on patient care outcomes, to evaluate the challenges that may be encountered by nurses in collaborative care, to identify/suggest the favourable factors enhancing collaborative care.

Material and Method: Descriptive survey involving 98 registered nurses irrespective of their areas of specialization, age and rank, working in Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Self-developed questionnaire served as tool for data collection.

Results: 69.4% of the nurses define collaborative care as the interaction between healthcare professionals to achieve highest care outcomes followed by 14.3% who stated that it implies coordination of activities between nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Most nurses believe interdisciplinary/collaborative approach to care enhances quality and safety of care (53.0%), followed by those (28.6%) who stated that it enhances coordination and efficiency of care/ therapeutic regimen. Most nurses do encounter challenge(s) in the practice of collaborative care (83.7%) while 16.3% do not.

Out of the nurses who encounter challenges during collaboration (N=82 {83.7%}), majority (56.1%) stated that physicians perceive themselves as primary decision makers and will change treatment plans without consultation. This, by implication, constitutes a major challenge followed by lack of communication (24.4%). Respect for different perspectives and mutual responsibility for problem solving is a favourable factor enhancing purposeful collaborative care (53.1%), followed by direct and open communication (26.5%.

Conclusion: The study was conducted aiming to find out the awareness of nurses about the nature and practice of collaborative care. Findings show that 69.4% of the nurses define collaborative care as the interaction between healthcare professionals to achieve highest care outcomes followed by 14.3% who stated that it implies coordination of activities between nurses and other healthcare professionals. By implication, nurses are aware of the nature and practice of collaborative care.

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