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This study aimed to assess interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professionals at governmental hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

This is qualitative study at six governmental hospitals, four general and two specialized. Thirty healthcare professionals were purposefully recruited to seven semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions. Analysis was carried out using the open-coded thematic analysis.

Eight themes had been identified: (1) unity of goals among health professionals, (2) physicians as team leaders, (3) patient involvement, (4) decision-making and conflict management (5) relationships among professionals, (6) general responsibilities and autonomy, (7) mutual trust and information exchange and (8) collaboration with the community to coordinate care. The first three themes were impediments, whilst “decision-making and conflict resolution” was a significant enabler of interprofessional collaboration. The last four themes were the lowest in their level and varied from one hospital to another as well.

The main limitation in this study was the number of participants; a relatively large sample might be needed for more data saturation. Therefore, health professionals from diverse backgrounds and different managerial levels have been recruited.

Policymakers could rely upon the recommendations in strengthening the enablers of interprofessional collaboration and overcoming barriers, both on system, organizational and individual levels.

This study was conducted at six hospitals of different specialties and sizes, and health professionals from different six professions have been recruited. In addition, two qualitative tools were used, interviews and focus group discussions.

This study aimed at assessing the current interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among healthcare professionals at the public hospitals in the Gaza Strip in 2016 through measuring the average level, and also examind the influence of professionals' characteristics on their collaboration.

A quantitative, cross-sectional study using a valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale was conducted. A total of 323 participants from six health professions completed the questionnaire which was analyzed using SPSS version 20 by applying descriptive tests, t-test, ANOVA and inferential analysis (Scheffe test); the statistical significance was considered at p = 0.05.

The interprofessional collaboration was moderate (71.66%). “General relationships” elicited the highest mean score (3.943) due to participants' belief in its importance, whereas “community linkages and coordination of care” was the lowest (3.181) as a result of the restricted policy in this regard. Gender, age, profession and position have shown statistically significant variables on the overall collaboration. In short, there are differences in the performance of IPC domains and even within items of the same domain.

This study was conducted at only public hospitals; in addition, it was a cross-sectional study, so the causation relationships are difficult to assess. Moreover, the questionnaire was on self-administered basis which might result in misread or misunderstood bias.

This was the first study in the Palestinian context on collaboration between multiple professions using a comprehensive and reliable assessment tool.

Leadership is the ability to influence, guide and encourage employees to achieve organizational goals. Leadership has a significant role in organizations’ success or failure. Thus, this paper aims to develop a model to elucidate leadership practices in the Iranian health-care organizations (HCOs).

Qualitative approach was used in this study due to its explorative nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 key managers and 30 professionals working at different HCOs. Inductive analysis was carried out using the grounded theory approach to develop an initial leadership model for HCOs. The proposed model subsequently was verified by an experts’ panel.

The proposed leadership model emerged from the Iranian HCOs encompasses six main categories: leader, followers, high-ups and peers, context, processes and outcomes. Leader, followers and contexts as main categories did also have further sub-categories.

Study findings are cautiously transferrable as it reflects the Iranian context. While the model was verified, it might still benefit from more and diverse views.

This model can be used by health-care policymakers and managers for improving managers’ leadership competencies and practices and enhancing health outcomes through motivating and mobilizing health-care resources toward achieving organizational goals.

This study aims to give an answer for “what is the current status of leadership in Iranian HCOs?” and “how can we reinforce the strengths and address the weaknesses?”