Family physicians’ interest and involvement in interdisciplinary collaborative practice in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Background: Teamwork and collaborative practice are acknowledged as key to strengthening primary health care. This study assessed Canadian family physicians/ general practitioners’ (FPs/GPs) interest and involvement in interdisciplinary collaborative practice. Methods: From nine focus groups conducted with 46 FPs/GPs in the Capital Health region (Edmonton, Alberta) concerning the quality and capacity of services in family practice, the discussions related to collaborative practice and practice teams were extracted and qualitatively analysed. Based on this analysis, one section of a mail survey assessed FPs/GPs levels of interest and current involvement with 11 other types of health professionals. Results: In focus groups, FPs/GPs identified seven categories of issues related to interdisciplinary collaborative practice: quality and capacity of care, quality of work life, affordability, availability/accessibility of other health professionals, team-building processes, responsibility/accountability, and system resources. Survey responses from 300 of 583 FPs/GPs in the region (51%) showed substantial interest in working with other health professionals, but strikingly less frequent current working relationships. Conclusions: The large gap between the interest and willingness of FPs/GPs to collaborate and their current involvement in teamwork must be addressed if collaborative practice is to increase in line with the goals of primary care reform in Canada.