Relationship between Interprofessional Communication and Health Care Team Collaboration

Background: One of the hospitals strategies to improve safety and enhance the quality of patient care, through the visible collaboration and strong communication among staff nurses and resident physicians working in ICU to maintaining a safe and effective therapeutic environment. Aim: to examine the relationship between interprofessional communication and health care team collaboration. Methods: A descriptive, correlational research design was conducted at Damanhour Chest hospital and Damanhour Fever hospital, at EL-Beheira Governate-Egypt. Subjects: It is composed of two groups: staff nurses (n=160) and resident physicians (n=30). Tools : 1) Interprofessional Communication Questionnaire (ICQ), and 2) Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS). Results: There were highly statistically positive significant correlations between interprofessional communication dimensions (openness, accuracy, timeliness and understanding) and collaboration dimensions (partnership/ shared decision making, cooperation and coordination), where (P= 0.00). Conclusion: There were highly positive significant relationships was found between physicians and nurses in relation to interprofessional communication and team collaboration. Recommendations: developing strategy to improve nurse/physician communication and collaboration, the themes could be used to design learning activities for nursing and resident physicians, including discussions, simulations, and role playing.