Asian Nursing Research
Volume 2, Issue 1 , Pages 25-34, March 2008

Multidisciplinary Practice Experience of Nursing Faculty and Their Collaborators for Primary Health Care in Korea

  • Mi Ja Kim, PhD, RN, FAAN

      Affiliations

    • Professor and Dean Emerita, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • ,
  • Hyang-In Cho Chung, PhD, RN

      Affiliations

    • Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Chonnam National University, Kwangju, Korea
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Hyang-In Cho Chung, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Chonnam National University, 26 Seonamdong Street, Dong-Ku, Gwangju City 501-746, Korea
    • ,
  • Yang Heui Ahn, RN, HCNS, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Professor, Department of Nursing, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea

Article Outline

Purpose

This study aimed to describe the range of participation of nursing faculty members and their collaborators in multidisciplinary primary health care in Korea and to analyze facilitators, benefits, barriers, and learned lessons.

Methods

An exploratory descriptive research design was utilized. A total of 13 nursing faculty members and 13 multidisciplinary collaborators were interviewed face to face using a brief questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide. Descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, and content analysis were used for data analysis.

Results

About 43% of the nursing faculty had multidisciplinary primary health care experience. Facilitators included a government-funded research/demonstration project, personal belief and expertise in primary health care, and well-delineated role boundaries. Benefits included improved quality of life, more convenient community life, meeting multifaceted needs of community residents, and enhanced research activities. Barriers were lack of teamwork; territoriality and self-protective behaviors; lack of insight into primary health care among stakeholders; nurses undervaluing their work; and the rigid bureaucratic system of public health centers. Learned lessons were the importance of teamwork and its synergistic benefits, the importance of conducting clinically relevant research, having the government's support in the improvement of public health, developing health policies through multidisciplinary primary health care (M-D PHC) work, and respecting each other's territory and expertise.

Conclusion

Teamwork should be included in all health professions' curricula, and nursing clinical practicums should include primary health care in all specialty areas. More faculties should engage in multidisciplinary primary health care. The benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to primary health care outweigh the difficulties experienced by multidisciplinary team members. The findings of this study may be useful for future multidisciplinary primary health care work worldwide.

Key Words:  multidisciplinary approach , primary health care (PHC)

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PII: S1976-1317(08)60026-2

doi:10.1016/S1976-1317(08)60026-2

Asian Nursing Research
Volume 2, Issue 1 , Pages 25-34, March 2008

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