Interprofessional collaboration practices: Case study of the handling of malnutrition in three public health centers in South Sulawesi

Abstract

Background: Complicated health problems require the involvement of all healthcare professions. Nutritional status is one of the most important aspects in preparing healthy generations. The purpose of this research was to examine interprofessional collaborations in the efforts of handling nutritional problems in toddlers. Method: This qualitative research study was completed in three public health centers in Jeneponto Regency. A total of 22 informants (19 females and 3 males) participated in this study. The professionals consisted of three doctors, seven nurses, five midwives, four nutritionists, two sanitarians and one health promotion officer. Results: The results of this research revealed various definitions of malnutrition by the health officials, including the characteristics and causes of malnutrition. Various actual activities were performed as joint efforts in handling nutrition problems and a good understanding of interprofessional collaborations was indicated by the health officers. Many activities showed a form of interprofessional collaboration in the daily healthcare services. One of these activities was the integrated health center activity. However, at the time of implementation of the activities, there was not yet an interprofessional collaboration as a whole. Supporting documents showed that the implementation of interprofessional collaborations in the form of written rules was also not available. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the implementation of interprofessional collaborations in South Sulawesi has not been optimized.