A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study

Schmid, Fabienne; Rogan, Slavko; Glässel, Andrea

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126537

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A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study

Fabienne Schmid

¹,

Slavko Rogan

^1,2

and

Andrea Glässel

^3,4,*

Department of Health Professions, Division of Physiotherapy Bern, Bern University of Applied Sciences, 3008 Bern, Switzerland

Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussel, Belgium

Institute of Biomedical Ethics and Medical History, University Zurich, Winterthurer Strasse 30, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland

⁴

Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Katharina-Sulzer-Platz 9, CH-8401 Winterthur, Switzerland

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6537; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126537

Received: 25 May 2021 / Revised: 11 June 2021 / Accepted: 13 June 2021 / Published: 17 June 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Care from Patients' Perspective)

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Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system mainly of adults ranging from 20 to 45 years of age. The risk of developing MS is 50% higher in women than in men. Most people with MS (PwMS) experience a spectrum of symptoms such as spasticity, continence dysfunctions, fatigue, or neurobehavioral manifestations. Due to the complexity of MS and the variety of patient-centered needs, a comprehensive approach of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) of multiple health care professionals (HCP) is necessary. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the meaning of IPC in the comprehensive care of PwMS from a HCP perspective. Focus groups (FG) with HCP were conducted, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The sample contained HCP from three MS clinics in different phases of care and rehabilitation. Four main categories emerged: (a) experience with IPC, (b) relevant aspects for IPC in patients’ treatment, (c) differences in in- and outpatient settings, and (d) influence of patient perspective. IPC plays a crucial role in HCP perspective when treating PwMS, which can benefit from an IPC therapeutic approach because HCP work together in a patient-centered way. The inpatient setting of HCP strongly supports the implementation of IPC. This prerequisite does not exist in outpatient settings. View Full-Text

Keywords: multiple sclerosis; health care professionals; qualitative research; focus groups; narration; interprofessional collaboration

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Schmid, F.; Rogan, S.; Glässel, A. A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6537. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126537

AMA Style

Schmid F, Rogan S, Glässel A. A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(12):6537. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126537

Chicago/Turabian Style

Schmid, Fabienne, Slavko Rogan, and Andrea Glässel. 2021. "A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 12: 6537. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126537

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A Swiss Health Care Professionals’ Perspective on the Meaning of Interprofessional Collaboration in Health Care of People with MS—A Focus Group Study

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