Interprofessional Collaboration in Children's Services: Toward a Theoretical Framework

Abstract

Because the complex problems of society do not come in discipline-shaped blocks, the best practice in services for children and families increasingly requires genuine collaboration across professions. Despite the widespread recognition of the importance of interprofessional collaboration, its practice has been limited by numerous conceptual and pragmatic obstacles. The lack of an adequate theory to ground and guide collaborative practice has constituted a critical barrier. After reviewing the current status of interprofessional collaboration as well as barriers to its implementation, we propose a theoretical framework for interprofessional collaboration that draws on the fundamental principles of human development and provides guidelines for practice.