How can interprofessional collaboration be fostered and sustained in team-based care integration for older people in community settings? A realist evidence synthesis

Background: Community-centred care integration for older adults is a cornerstone of the WHO's Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) implementation framework. Realising the potential of care integration for older people requires cohesive coordination of services and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) within and across teams. There is a gap in research evidence to understand how IPC can be fostered and sustained within team-based community care integration for older people. We report on a realist evidence synthesis to identify the contextual influences and mechanisms that support IPC in interprofessional community care teams for older people.

Methods: The three phases of the realist synthesis included an exploratory scoping of research evidence and consultation with four local stakeholder groups to produce initial programme theories. The second phase involved systematic retrieval and synthesis of evidence, including peer-reviewed published empirical studies and grey literature recommended by an expert panel. The third phase involved the development of refined programme theory with stakeholder validation. The stakeholder cohorts included representatives of older people and caregivers, healthcare professionals and operational managers of community specialist older person teams, national policymakers, and programme managers.

Results: The resource and reasoning mechanisms that enable contexts for IPC and their associated outcomes are identified within seven programme theory areas: (1) professional identity and growth, (2) information sharing and care coordination across boundaries, (3) effective operational and clinical governance, (4) developing a team learning culture, (5) meaningful inclusion of older people and caregivers, (6) quality improvement and programme development, (7) workforce planning and retention.

Conclusions: The results provide policymakers and clinicians with evidence-based programme theory that will catalyse critical dialogue on IPC implementation. This programme theory informs the prioritisation of resources to enable favourable contexts for successful IPC intervention development and implementation. This research complements and expands the work presented in the WHO ICOPE implementation framework. We encourage local realist application and evaluation of the programme theory within varying health system contexts.