INTERPROFESSIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE HOSPITAL PRACTICES IN FACING COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the development of collaborative and interprofessional practices in hospitals, promoting the reorganization of workflows and investments in care. Such practices, recognized by the World Health Organization, led professionals to develop work processes, which require an integrated approach, aiming at user-centered care. This study aimed to analyze the actions to face COVID-19 from the perspective of interprofessionality and the perception of professionals at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, identifying the collaborative work processes that were built and the legacy left by the actions taken. The study is a qualitative case study. Interviews were conducted with professionals from the COVID-19 care teams at HCPA (n=18), physiotherapists, physicians, nurses, speech therapists, nutritionists, and psychologists. Content analysis was used to understand the corpus of collected data. A semi-structured script guided the interviews, and the evaluation of the material was carried out based on its organization into two categories: construction of collaborative and interprofessional work processes; the legacy for the hospital, professionals, and users. Content analysis was used to understand the corpus of collected data. It was observed that professionals developed collaborative work processes, including trainings, use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), huddles for discussions, interprofessional mediations for psychological support, and shared bedside care. The integrated work, the exchange of knowledge, and the new routines gave visibility to the interprofessional work and correspond to the legacy left for the hospital, resulting in a learning process to face future pandemics.