Practitioners’ experiences of interprofessional collaboration in substance use services: A qualitative study

This article is based on a qualitative research project examining collaboration among practitioners in Norwegian substance use services. Even if the need for interprofessional collaboration is thoroughly described in white papers, research, and the governmental Escalation Plan for substance use services in Norway, little knowledge exists about how professionals experience collaboration. Therefore, our research question was: “How do practitioners experience interprofessional collaboration within substance use services?” The project consisted of semi-structured interviews with five professionals. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the data, and four findings were identified: (1) energy and discomfort, (2) problematic organizational structures, (3) closeness and distance in relation to service users, and (4) the experienced collaborator. The discussion is based on Norwegian guidelines as well as systemic and social constructionist theory. This research gives insights into not only the current status of collaborative practice in substance use services but also facilitators and barriers for collaborative practice that may be universal or contextual.»/>