Interdisciplinary practice in health care: A promissory path for professionals and patients

The objective of this study is to identify the contribution of interdisciplinary practice towards the construction of New Forms of Work Organization (NFWO) in Health Care. The investigation was carried out in two public hospitals in the southern region of Brazil, analyzing two teams who work within an interdisciplinary perspective. The theoretical-methodological path was based on historical-dialectic materialism and Edgar Morin’s theory of complexity. Triangulation was used for data collection and analysis. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, systematic observation, and documental analysis. The interviews were carried out with different health care professionals who composed the studied teams, as well as with users/patients and their families. The systematic observation included daily care activities carried out with in-patients and home care, as well as during work group activities with users and their families. The documental study has included documents about the structures of institutions and teams. The data was organized in the following categories: characterization of institutions and interdisciplinary teams; work processes of interdisciplinary teams – the potential aspects for the construction of NFWO in health care; expressions of the interdisciplinary perspective in the context of palliative and gerontology care teams; work relationships, and subjectivity. The results point out that the organization of work in interdisciplinary teams presents characteristics that approach the NFWO in health care, among which the following are highlighted: the construction of  a shared care project from the comprehensiveness  perspective; approximation of the worker and work results; greater job satisfaction and more solid worker relationships among themselves and with users/patients, producing positive effects as well in user/patient satisfaction. We conclude that the interdisciplinary practice contributes to improve the quality of health care in the professionals’ and patients’ views.