Building Multiprofessional Primary Care Teams: Insights From a Community Health Center in Italy

Abstract

Introduction: The Primary Health Care approach emphasizes service integration and interprofessional (IP) collaboration, recognizing teamwork as an essential component. Despite the evidence being in favor of the application of teamwork, its adoption in primary care (PC) systems remains difficult. In Italy, a recent national policy supports the strengthening of IP teamwork in the "House of Community"-HoC (a model of Community Health Centers), but its implementation needs further evaluation. This study examines how IP teamwork has developed within a HoC in an Italian neighborhood, focusing on its transition toward a more structured collaborative practice and examining the perceptions and experiences of PC professionals.

Methods: Nine semi-structured interviews and 2 focus-groups were conducted with PC professionals from different PC services. Then, an analytical model was proposed. Data were analyzed using both deductive and inductive approaches.

Results: Four main themes emerged: rethinking of traditional roles and scopes of practices, leadership/management skills and time/space, IP initiatives, and early perceptions. Based on these findings, an analytical model of teamwork evolution identified 3 interconnected key areas: resource, process, and context.

Conclusion: The integration of an IP teamwork into the broader healthcare structure can enhance the promotion of a cohesive and collaborative organization, while also recognizing and dealing with its challenges.

Keywords: interprofessional collaboration; multiprofessional teamwork; organizational change; primary care; team identity.

Figure 1.

Visual representation of the phases.

Figure 2.

Model for analyzing collaborative practice and teamwork evolution.