Abstract

This qualitative focus group (FG) study describes an interdisciplinary health care team's collaboration while serving an underprivileged patient population. Collaboration was explored with diverse personnel from support staff to upper administration at a nurse-managed community-based health center in the northeastern region of the United States. Biopsychosocial theory and a feminist ecological framework were used to explore how multiple contextual variables of patients and their providers influence the collaborative process of 39 staff. Content analysis revealed facilitators and barriers to collaboration. Providers' perceptions of care revealed a patient-centered approach with serendipitous family and community involvement. Recognized challenges included the need to improve family and community involvement, develop ongoing cultural sensitivity training for staff at the center, and hire more providers who match the ethnic and racial makeup of the center's clientele.