Experiences and challenges of an interprofessional community of practice in HIV and AIDS in Tshwane district, South Africa.
Collaboration amongst stakeholders remains a central tenet to achieving goals in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of HIV and AIDS prevention and care strategies. This paper describes the experiences of members of a health care team who joined efforts to collaborate and form a community of practice (CoP) in HIV and AIDS. Qualitative, exploratory case study methods were used. Twenty-six participants were interviewed. Transcripts from the interviews were subjected to the thematic framework of data analysis. Based on the analysis, three themes emerged as impacting on collaboration and these were: the understanding and expectations of being a CoP member; professionalism and ethics within the CoP and collaboration in HIV and AIDS care. The key findings were that the understanding and expectations from the CoP varied. Ethical principles including respect, trust and confidentiality were identified as key tenets of collaboration and were expressed in various ways. The expectations of being a CoP member, the ethical principles within the CoP all impacted in differing ways on how they collaborated. The implication of this study suggests that consultation during inception and throughout the process, clarification of roles, transparency and respect are cardinal points in professional relationships.
Department of Nursing Science, University of Pretoria , Pretoria , South Africa .
Mmapheko
M
Doriccah Peu
Sanah
S
Mataboge
Martha
M
Chinouya
Priscilla
P
Jiyane
Richard
R
Rikhotso
Tsakani
T
Ngwenya
Fhumulani
F
Mavis Mulaudzi
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology
AIDS; HIV; South Africa; community of practice; interprofessional collaboration; professionalism