Measuring interdisciplinary team performance in a long-term care setting.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to test the reliability and the validity of a survey instrument for assessing interdisciplinary team performance in long-term care settings and to measure team performance in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).


METHODS
The analysis is based on 1220 surveys completed by team members of 26 PACE programs. Cronbach's alphas, analysis of variance, and regression models were used to assess the reliability and the validity of the instrument. Multivariate regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with team performance in PACE.


RESULTS
Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.76 to 0.89 demonstrate good-to-high reliability for all domains of the team process and performance (effectiveness). Construct validity is demonstrated through the results of the regression analysis showing that leadership, communication, coordination, and conflict management are positive and significant (P <0.001) predictors of team cohesion and team effectiveness. The data also support the appropriateness of aggregating individual-level responses to the unit level. Perceived team effectiveness significantly (P <0.05) increases with: age of the respondents; longer length of the team's professional work experience; shorter duration of the team's PACE experience; more ethnically diverse composition of the team; greater ethnic concordance between team members and the participants; and greater perceived resource availability.


CONCLUSIONS
Several of the factors influencing team effectiveness in PACE are potentially modifiable and, therefore, could offer insights for improving team practice.
Temkin-Greener
Helena
H
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA. Helana_Greener@urmc.rochester.edu
Gross
Diane
D
Kunitz
Stephen J
SJ
Mukamel
Dana
D
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000592:standards; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000592:standards*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000592:standards*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce