Predictors of Cooperation in Health Care Teams

Abstract

Interdisciplinary teams are now common in many health care settings. Although there have been many studies on teams, there is no consistent empirical pattern regarding either team process or performance. It is often assumed that positive group process results from cooperation among group members. The present study investigated this assumption by analyzing the specific components of cooperation involved in teamwork and relating them to group input variables. Seventy-two members offour interdisciplinary teams at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center responded to a 13-item questionnaire measuring cooperation. Results indicated that cooperation was significantly related to two group input variables: the size of the team and whether an individual member was staff or a trainee. Cooperation increased when team size was smaller and when the member was on staff These group factors may help to explain the inconsistency demonstrated in previous team studies.