A cluster-randomized controlled study to evaluate a team coaching concept for improving teamwork and patient-centeredness in rehabilitation teams

PURPOSE Although the relevance of interprofessional teamwork in the delivery of patient-centered care is well known, there is a lack of interventions for improving team interaction in the context of rehabilitation in Germany. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether a specially developed team coaching concept (TCC) could improve both teamwork and patient-centeredness. METHOD A multicenter, cluster-randomized controlled intervention study was conducted with both staff and patient questionnaires. Data was collected at ten German rehabilitation clinics (five clusters) of different indication fields before (t1) and after (t2) the intervention. Intervention clinics received the TCC, while control clinics did not receive any treatment. Staff questionnaires were used to measure internal participation and other aspects of teamwork, such as team organization, while patient questionnaires assessed patient-centeredness. A multivariate analysis of variance was applied for data analysis. RESULTS In order to analyze the effect of TCC on internal participation and teamwork, 305 questionnaires were included for t1 and 213 for t2 in the staff survey. In the patient survey, 523 questionnaires were included for t1 and 545 for t2. The TCC improved team organization, willingness to accept responsibility and knowledge integration according to staff, with small effect sizes (univariate: η2=.010-.017), whereas other parameters including internal participation, team leadership and cohesion did not improve due to the intervention. The patient survey did not show any improvements on the assessed dimensions. CONCLUSION The TCC improved dimensions that were addressed directly by the approach and were linked to the clinics' needs, such as restructured team meetings and better exchange of information. The TCC can be used to improve team organization, willingness to accept responsibility, and knowledge integration in rehabilitation practice, but some further evaluation is needed to understand contextual factors and processes regarding the implementation of the intervention.