Interprofessional Collaboration and Teams in Public and Community Health

Effective healthcare delivery requires teams and teamwork in all types of settings. Interprofessional Collaboration and Teams in Public and Community Health examines the use of teams and implications for public and community health to ensure effective services and support coordination, collaboration, and communication during planning, implementation, and evaluation of these services.

The guide discusses the development and characteristics of teams, describes team leader and team member roles and responsibilities, and provides readers with real-world examples of teams and teamwork in public and community health services. Readers learn that effective interprofessional collaboration requires engagement from many stakeholders, including individual healthcare providers and healthcare organizations, with an emphasis on teams of providers that include input from health profession education, communities and government, insurers, health policy, health research, and consumers. As is true for all types of healthcare services, the book posits that the additional consideration of social determinants of health, equity, diversity and disparities, population health, and vulnerable populations is crucial for effective teamwork within the discipline.

Interprofessional Collaboration and Teams in Public and Community Health is part of the Cognella Series on Public and Community Health Nursing, a collection of concise, informative guides that explore critical topical areas, their nursing application, and their relationship to nursing practice.

Anita Finkelman is a nurse educator and consultant, providing services in the U.S. and Israel, where she was visiting faculty at Recanati School for Community Health Professions at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and has consulted with several Israeli universities. Previously, she served on faculty and in academic administrative positions at the University of Cincinnati, University of Oklahoma, and Northeastern University. Finkelman earned her BSN from Texas Christian University and her master's degree in psychiatric mental health nursing/clinical nurse specialist from Yale University.