Building empowering partnerships for interprofessional care

Abstract

While partnership approaches have the potential to achieve cost-effective quality health care, several attributes of the current context make partnerships difficult to achieve. This paper provides an analysis of the socio-cultural, structural and human challenges to building partnerships at both personal and organizational levels, together with an empowering interdisciplinary approach for overcoming these barriers. Premised on empirical evidence, ‘flexible client-driven care’, currently being tested in the home care sector in Canada, encompasses structures and processes that promote relationship-building and conscientious critical application of individual and collective potential for achieving health care. Strategies for implementing empowering partnership-building at both personal and organizational levels are elaborated, together with the challenges encountered. The practical issues addressed afford insights and ideas for others who may be attempting to achieve similar partnership aims.