Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2025
Abstract
Context
Primary care teams are facing increased demands, turnover, and escalating rates of burnout. A primary care team aligned in its core values and organized according to common teamwork principles is essential for delivering patient-centered, coordinated, and effective healthcare.
Methods
As part of a series of studies on workplace factors and burnout among primary care practice team members, we selected an urban practice with high rates of burnout to assess their teamwork via a practice-wide survey and six focus groups divided by role. The interview guide focused on identifying areas for potential intervention around teamwork. Transcripts were open-coded using a blend of conventional and directed content analysis. Codes were mapped onto the Core Principles and Values Framework for the final thematic analysis and we examined alignment with these principles, identifying barriers and facilitators of teamwork.
Findings
In a survey, participants rated their teamwork as low in a primary care practice with high rates of burnout and turnover during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In focus groups, participants identified how pre-existing issues (demands, short staffing), coupled with high turnover in key clinical and leadership positions, prevented teamwork as they lacked the time to build relationships and devalued investment in temporary employees. Collaborative processes for determining workflows and implementing best practices of shadowing and huddles were identified as facilitators.
Conclusions
Primary care practice teams operate best when members adhere to the core principles of teamwork, which are predicated on having consistent team members and time for intentional assessment, investment, and support of teams.
Recommended Citation
Kelly, Erin L.; Guariglia, Catherine; Felter, Jeanne; Shah, Dhruvi; Mauriello, Brooke; Cunningham, Amy; Arenson, Chris; and Sifri, Randa, "A House Divided: A Mixed Method Investigation of Primary Care Interprofessional Teams Using the Core Principles and Values of Teamwork Framework" (2025). Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers. Paper 95.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/fmfp/95
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, Volume 8, December 2025, Article number 100665.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2025.100665. Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.