"We Get Stuck in our Own Little Bubbles": How Community Mental Healthcare Professionals Acknowledge their Role in Interorganizational Collaboration.

Abstract

Interorganizational collaboration (i.e., organizations working together towards one goal) is one approach that can be used by community-based organizations to ensure marginalized individuals receive needed care. Though there has been some research on the mechanisms of collaboration from the perspective of leadership, less literature has focused on the perspective of staff working in community-based settings. The study aimed to explore staff perceptions of interorganizational collaboration within a North Carolina county and to gather their recommendations for strengthening such collaboration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty community-based staff that worked with behavioral health clients, were employed in varying roles and occupied different levels of the organization. Employing a generic qualitative methodology, data were analyzed using an inductive coding approach with the help of a research assistant. Thematic analysis was used across codes to generate seven themes. Community-based staff viewed collaboration as primarily driven by historic relationships and being facilitated by the possession of similar technological infrastructure. Staff reflected on the disconnect between interpersonal relationships and organizational relationships when it came to prioritizing client care. Solutions to improving collaboration as a way of strengthening a client's access to care included organizations providing time and space to network, building out technological infrastructure for more organizations, and emphasizing the ability to provide holistic care through collaboration. Using staff-driven solutions to improving collaboration can encourage buy-in and can build sustainable relationships.