Alla pusselbitar behövs : En fallstudie om interprofessionellt teamarbete i äldreomsorgen

Sammanfattning: When the population is getting older, the need for complex care and nursing interventions in elderly care increases. To create a holistic view of the elder and their life situation, interprofessional team collaboration is often desirable and necessary. Teamwork is often described in positive terms, but previous research has shown that this work method is complicated and requires constant reflection and development. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elderly care teamwork is formed in the interaction between representatives of different professionals. To accomplish this purpose, we have studied how the team members define a well-functioning teamwork and difficulties, and how consensus is achieved in the team. This qualitative case-study combines observation and semi-structured interviews with five informants from different professions working together in an elderly care team: one manager, one assistance case worker, one nurse, one physiotherapist and one of the nursing staff. The results of the study were then analyzed with the terms domain consensus and domain conflict taken from the new institutionalism. The study shows that the informants define a well-functioning teamwork as a work method where openness and mutual respect towards each other’s competence, creates a better holistic view of the elder and their needs. The informants also present teamwork difficulties as disagreements and gabble. The study finally suggests that there is a consensus regarding teamwork goals, and regarding who is entitled to claim knowledge in the different fields of the working area.