Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct 22:13:1223-1234.
doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S267116. eCollection 2020.

Teamwork, Professional Identities, Conflict, and Industrial Action in Nigerian Healthcare

Suleiman Mayaki  1 , Martyn Stewart  2
Affiliations

Teamwork, Professional Identities, Conflict, and Industrial Action in Nigerian Healthcare

Suleiman Mayaki et al. J Multidiscip Healthc. .

Abstract

Purpose: Modern healthcare is delivered by teams of multidisciplinary professionals. Conflicts have been widely reported between these professionals in Nigeria. Furthermore, the health system is frequently crippled by industrial actions by trade unions representing these professionals. This study aimed to shed light on the complexities of factors perceived to cause workplace conflicts, including the extent to which these are thought to link to industrial action.

Materials and methods: Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses, doctors, and medical laboratory scientists who work in multiprofessional settings giving a total of 41 participants. Results were analyzed within the framework of the social identity theory.

Results and conclusions: The dominant themes that emerged as barriers to teamwork include professional hierarchy, role ambiguity, and poor communication. At the same time, the health sector leadership and remuneration were the main themes concerning industrial actions. The salience of professional identities was also demonstrated, providing a link between interprofessional conflict in the workplace and competitive industrial actions by trade unions representing health professionals. The implications for educational and clinical practice and the need for interprofessional education are discussed.

Keywords: industrial action; interprofessional conflict; professional identity; teamwork.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. Federal Ministry of Health. The Nigerian national strategic health development plan frame-work 2009–2015. Available from: https://www.uhc2030.org/fileadmin/uploads/ihp/Documents/Country_Pages/Ni.... Accessed February20, 2019.
    1. Olatinwo A. Managing inter-professional relationships in the health sector. The Nation. 2014. Available from: http://thenationonlineng.net/managing-inter-professional-relationships-h.... Accessed February20, 2020.
    1. Medical News Nigeria. Nigeria medical association FCT press release on assault/attack of doctors at their duty posts by JOHESU members. Medical World Nigeria. 2015. Available from: https://medicalworldnigeria.com/post/medical-and-dental-consultants-asso.... Accessed February8, 2019.
    1. News Agency of Nigeria. JOHESU strike: NMA decries attacks on doctors, patients in Enugu. The guardian. 2018. Available from: https://guardian.ng/features/johesu-strike-nma-decries-attacks-on-doctor.... Accessed June10, 2020.
    1. Ihekweazu C Three reasons strikes will continue in Nigeria’s health sector. Nigeria Health Watch. 2015. Available from: http://nigeriahealthwatch.com/three-reasons-strikes-will-continue-in-nig.... Accessed June10, 2020.

LinkOut - more resources