Collaborative family health care: what do practitioners think

Abstract

Although in recent years, family therapy practitioners have been working in physical health environments, this process has been confusing as to the proper role of the family therapist in such settings. This article describes a quantitative study, using a survey design, that attempted to better define the collaborative practice between medical and psychosocial providers in health care. For that purpose, a questionnaire was developed based on a prior qualitative design that included ethnographic interviews that generated theoretical concepts inductively derived from family therapists and family physicians’ detailed descriptions of their experience in collaborative health care. The study’s goal attempted to provide more information regarding the practice of the interdisciplinary approach in health care. Results showed that the major area of concern for all types of practioners is training both in private as in not-for-profit settings. The distinction between different types of practitioners and their contribution for collaborative health care was also acknowledged. The integration between the biomedical model and the systemic model is still a problematic area for those who practice a collaborative approch. Implications of the results towards the practice and the operationalization of the collaborative approach are emphasized.