title: How the past influences interprofessional collaboration between obstetricians and midwives in the Netherlands: Findings from a secondary analysis.
abstract: Collaborations between groups of professionals often have a long history, which can still influence contemporary practice. If problems in the collaboration occur, the search for effective interventions for these problems may be informed by analysing current practice as well as the historical development of the collaboration. The study focused on the collaboration between obstetricians and midwives in the Netherlands. We performed a secondary analysis of questionnaire data focusing on midwives evaluating the collaborative performance of obstetricians in the Netherlands. Template analysis was used to analyse the questionnaires. The initial template was based on a model for interprofessional collaboration. As a final step, we reflected on the results in light of the historical development of the collaboration. The midwives experienced a power imbalance and a lack of trust and mutual acquaintanceship in their collaboration with obstetricians. They also reported a need for interprofessional governance and formalization. Most of these reported problems in the collaboration have their origin in the historical development of both professions and in the development of the collaboration between both professional groups. Combining an exploration of contemporary interprofessional practice with a historical perspective on interprofessional collaboration is fruitful for understanding problems in collaboration between professional groups, and provides guidance for improving collaboration.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Education , OLVG Location West , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: van der Lee
authors.affiliation: b Department of Educational Development and Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences , Maastricht University , Maastricht , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erik W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Driessen
authors.affiliation: c Department of Medical Education , VU University Medical Center , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Fedde
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scheele
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008880:Midwifery / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009426:Netherlands; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000592:standards*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations
keywords: Interprofessional collaboration; interprofessional teamwork; maternity care; midwives; obstetrics; questionnaires; secondary analysis