Cultural diversity in health care teams

Although team-based work is deemed key to improving the quality of national healthcare systems, adverse events related to teamwork account for up to one-third of all incidents. Healthcare teams are typically multi-professional and diverse in many aspects, but cultural diversity is one of the most challenging.

This was discussed in a newly published article from MMTC members and affiliated researchers Manuela Schmidt Opens in new window., Norbert Steigenberger Opens in new window. and Timur Uman Opens in new window. together with their coauthor Magnus Berndtzon (Qulturum, the Center for Improvement in Healthcare External link, opens in new window.). The article "Cultural diversity in health care teams: A systematic integrative review and research agenda", systematically analyzes current relevant literature to better understand the impact of cultural diversity in healthcare teams on team processes as well as team and patient outcomes.

This study also explores the conditions that enable or hinder team functioning finding that culturally diverse healthcare teams experience several challenges, pointing to the need for action or structures that enable these teams to perform better, such as emphasizing learning and allowing team members time to get to know each other outside work.

The article was published in Health Care Management Review External link, opens in new window. (ABS2) and can be found via this link External link, opens in new window.