Identifying Factors Influencing Pediatric Professionals’ Self-reported Collaborative Practice Behaviors

Objective: The aim of this study was to: (1) determine the impact of interprofessional American Heart Association (AHA) resuscitation courses on health care professionals’ self- reported collaborative practice behaviors (CPBs); (2) identify differences between the three professions of nursing, medicine, and respiratory therapy on self-reported CPBs; and, (3) describe which specific CPBs were most strongly associated with health care professionals’ perceptions of interprofessional teams and enhanced patient care in clinical practice. Methods: A mixed methods explanatory design was utilized. Participants were pediatric health care professionals who attended AHA courses and were from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, and respiratory therapy. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected electronically using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) and two open-ended questions. Exploratory factor analysis, inferential statistics, and directed content analysis was performed. Inferences were made across the quantitative and qualitative data. Results: In self-reported CPB scores, a statistically significant change in mean was demonstrated by all professions (t (208) = –12.76;  < .001) immediately after the AHA courses; Physicians identified roles and responsibilities (94%, n = 17) as the most important CPB, whereas communication was identified by nurses (78%, n = 76), NPs (100%, n = 11) and respiratory therapists (71%, n = 5) as most important. Conclusions: Health care professionals’ participation in an interprofessional AHA course was positively correlated with an increase in mean self-reported CPB scores over time. In contrast, perceptions about the lasting effects of the CPBs learned in AHA courses on interprofessional teams and patient care in clinical practice varied between professions.