Collaboration orchestration in complex rehabilitation services—a qualitative study.

Interprofessional collaboration in rehabilitation is essential but challenging. Although factors supporting interprofessional collaboration are well known, how professionals make collaboration work within complex practices is underexamined. In response, we explored interprofessional collaboration an...

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Published in:Journal of Interprofessional Care Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 239 - 250
Main Authors: Skumsnes, Randi, Thygesen, Hilde, Groven, Karen Synne
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar/Apr2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar/Apr2026
      vid: 40
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      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/13561820.2025.2562076
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        atl: Collaboration orchestration in complex rehabilitation services—a qualitative study.
      aug:
        au:
          Skumsnes, Randi
          Thygesen, Hilde
          Groven, Karen Synne
        affil: Centre for Diaconia and Professional Practice, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway
      sug:
        subj:
          Interprofessional Relations
          Collaboration
          Communication
          Nervous System Diseases Rehabilitation
          Attitude of Health Personnel Evaluation
          Funding Source
          Norway
          Human
          Qualitative Studies
          Semi-Structured Interview
          Thematic Analysis
          Trust
          Audiorecording
          Hospitals
          Rehabilitation Centers
          Interview Guides
          Professional Competence
          Professional Knowledge
      ab: Interprofessional collaboration in rehabilitation is essential but challenging. Although factors supporting interprofessional collaboration are well known, how professionals make collaboration work within complex practices is underexamined. In response, we explored interprofessional collaboration and communication in a complex, dynamic rehabilitation setting, along with how healthcare professionals experience such collaboration and their actions to make it work across organizational boundaries. To those ends, we conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 14 healthcare practitioners from a hospital and the primary healthcare rehabilitation services in Western Norway. The interview transcripts were analyzed through thematic analysis, and we applied the theoretical perspective of relational expertise in interpreting the findings. We developed two main themes with sub-themes: that professionals enable and orchestrate collaborative work by (1) using different communication approaches flexibly and adjusting the collaboration to each patient's needs and to the collaborative situation, and (2) acknowledging the significance of interpersonal relations by cultivating mutual trust and understanding. Those new insights contribute to interprofessional practice by urging practice and policymakers to acknowledge practitioners' need for flexibility and to develop relational expertise as well professional expertise, especially in dynamic rehabilitation settings. Practitioners, educators and policymakers should support the cultivation of collaborative skills and structures.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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