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. 2025 Jul 1;24(1):702.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03418-w.

Teamwork and use of teams in services for older people: a qualitative study of finnish nurse managers' experiences

Henrika Karhulahti-Nordström  1 , Visa Väisänen  2   3 , Saukkonen Petra  4 , Alastalo Hanna  4 , Timo Sinervo  2
Affiliations

Teamwork and use of teams in services for older people: a qualitative study of finnish nurse managers' experiences

Henrika Karhulahti-Nordström et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: In Finnish services for older people, teams (a permanent group with a common task, divided for example by geographical or spatial criteria) have been implemented with the goal of improving the quality of care, individualized care and continuity of care as well as the wellbeing of nurses. Our aim was to describe nurse managers' experiences of using teams in home care and assisted living with 24/7 services.

Methods: The qualitative data used in the study was collected in May 2023 as part of a national survey on care organization for all units (n = 2996) offering care services for older people in Finland. Nurse managers working in home care and nurse managers working in assisted living with 24/7 services were asked to describe the benefits and challenges they have faced with the use of teams.

Results: Nurse managers highlighted that using teams enabled better planning and evaluation of client care, nurses' better wellbeing and ability to cope with work demands, and higher quality of care. Perceived challenges were incorporating temporary workforce into teams, the frequent poor collaboration between different teams, and perceived hindrance of professional development.

Conclusions: Teamwork might be beneficial for promoting wellbeing at work and for reducing the psychosocial burden experienced by nurses as well as increasing both the quality and continuity of care. Maintaining and developing the professional skills of nurses needs to be ensured, and adequate collaboration between the teams is required, especially with the rapid increase in the use of temporary workforce.

Keywords: 24-hour care; Assisted living with 24/7 services; Continuity of care; Home care; Services for older people; Teams; Teamwork; Workforce planning.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The Ethics Board of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare has approved the study (THL/1051/6.02.01/2024). Since the survey is mandated by law and conducted for administrative purposes, the respondents have answered it in their official capacity, which means that the respondents have not been asked for separate informed consent to participate in the study. Informed consent was assumed upon filling and returning the survey. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Perceived benefits and challenges of using teams, as experienced by nurse managers in home care and assisted living with 24/7 services
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