Examining the Role of Interprofessional Collaboration on Burnout: A Mixed Methods Study of Social Workers at a Single Medical Campus in the Veterans Administration Hospital System

Background/Purpose: Burnout, a negative feeling driven by work-related exhaustion, frustration, anger and depression (Stamm, 2010), has been documented in social workers within the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital system, but the connection between it and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) not been examined. IPC benefits patient outcomes and reduces costs. Yet, it is unclear if it also affects social workers’ professional quality of life, which is crucial to organizational and professional retention. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between IPC and burnout among social workers employed at a single medical campus within the VA hospital system and understand this association from the perspective of the workers themselves.

Methods: This study used an explanatory mixed-methods design composed of a cross-sectional survey and follow-up interviews. The majority of the 21 voluntary social work survey participants were women (85.7%) and direct practitioners (85.7%). Measures utilized for this study were the Burnout Scale of the Professional Quality of Life Scale (α=.788) and the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration (IIC; Interdependence scale α=.841, Newly created professional activities scale α=.710, Flexibility scale α=.804, Collective ownership of goals scale α=.849, Reflection on process scale α=.830). Thirteen social workers also volunteered to complete interviews. These social workers were predominantly women (76.9%) and direct practitioners (76.9%). Ordinary least squares regression was used to test significance of association between IIC correlates and burnout. Thematic analysis using a realist method was used to analyze qualitative data.

Results: Overall, social workers reported moderately low frequencies of burnout. Burnout was statistically significantly associated with the Collective ownership of goals (p<.001) and Reflection on process (p<.01) IIC scales. Social workers who perceived that professionals from other disciplines shared responsibility for services the medical campus provided also reported lower levels of burnout. Additionally, social workers who perceived that professionals from other disciplines gave and incorporated feedback from one another to improve their collaborative effectiveness also reported lower levels of burnout. There were no statistically significant associations between burnout and the Interdependence, Newly created professional activities and Flexibility IIC scales. Two themes were inducted from the interview data, which were positive interprofessional regard and pleasure in cross-disciplinary collaboration. The majority of social workers discussed instances of cross-professional respect connected with reduced work-related frustration. A number of social workers also discussed feelings of enjoyment in collaborative experiences connected with reduced work-related exhaustion.

Conclusions and Implications: These results suggest that a social worker’s perceptions of professional participation in treatment and perceptions of professional contribution to effective collaborative relationships were connected to their experience of burnout. From the social workers’ point of view, the reasons for these connections were cross-professional respect and gratifying collaborative experiences. This study implies, from the perspective of social worker quality of life, that organizations enact policies that facilitate productive team climates to promote social worker well-being. To contribute to organizational theory, future research should replicate this study with social workers in other medical campuses in the VA hospital system where they may operate within differing local and state policy landscapes and geocultural considerations.