Assessment

Assessment tools have been developed to objectively test collaboration progress. This is especially important in a multidisciplinary team because care is dependent on the ability of the professionals to work together in a coordinated manner. Although a health professional may think their team works collaboratively, these validated tools can provide comparable data.

One assessment tool with strong validity is the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS). This tool focuses on three elements that are essential in the collaborative practice: partnership/shared decision making, cooperation, and coordination. The instrument consists of 37 statements stemming from these themes and is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The strengths of the AITCS are the unique capacity and versatility to evaluate collaboration among teams in various settings and its incorporation of patient involvement as part of team practice.

Another assessment tool is the Primary Care Team Dynamics Survey. This model defines effective team dynamics using three criteria: team performance, member satisfaction, and team adaptation. This conceptual model focuses on three enabling conditions: a stable team, clearly described responsibilities and predetermined norms, and supportive rewards and incentives. According to the model, when the enabling conditions are present, team members report that the care they deliver is more effective for patients and professionals. Similar to the AITCS, the Primary Care Team Dynamics Survey uses a 5-point Likert scale but is a 29-item survey. Research supports this tool as an effective measure of the effectiveness of intervention strategies to improve collaboration among the team.

The last model used to measure team collaboration is the Team Survey. This measurement tool consists of the Team Questionnaire, Psychological Contract Scale (PCS), and additional questions that address communication, perspectives, and valuing others. The Team Questionnaire contains items to measure team interaction, team identification, team potency, and team metacognition. The PCS predicts whether members of the team are motivated to perform either monetarily or emotionally. Research suggests that the Team Survey is a robust and suitable instrument for measuring healthcare team performance. This tool is widely applicable, valid, reliable, and not solely reliant on self-report data.

The three assessment tools mentioned above are all easily administered, taking about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Any of the aforementioned tools can be used to examine the cohesiveness and collaboration efforts of the team. (Take Away: Evaluate team performance!)