Interprofessional Collaboration in Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review

Objectives: To examine facilitators of and barriers to interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in institutional long-term care (LTC) and geriatric rehabilitation (GR), and to provide an overview of instruments used to assess IPC in LTC and GR. Design: Systematic integrative review. Setting and Participants: Institutional long-term care and geriatric rehabilitation. Methods: We systematically searched relevant databases for articles using the terms interprofessional collaboration, interdisciplinary, long-term care, geriatric rehabilitation, elderly, facilitators, and barriers. We conducted a systematic integrative review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis method. Papers containing empirical data about barriers to and facilitators of IPC in LTC and GR were included. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool was used for quality assessment. Data were analyzed using qualitative thematical analysis. Results: Three interdependent themes regarding facilitators of and barriers to IPC emerged: Team performance, Organizational conditions, and Sharing information. Eight instruments were used to assess IPC in LTC and none for GR. Limited descriptions and insufficient psychometric qualities of the instruments were reported. Conclusions and Implications: To enhance IPC, it is necessary to stimulate facilitators and limit barriers on all 3 themes. Furthermore, a reliable, validated instrument to assess IPC in LTC and GR, based on a clear definition of IPC is needed. Successful IPC when caring for patients with multimorbidity in LTC and GR requires integration, understanding, and recognition of the interdependency from all persons involved, including patients and family caregivers. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.