Barriers to Effective Collaboration Among Healthcare Professionals in Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja - Kogi State

Abstract

To achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), there is need for all healthcare professionals to collaborate within and across specialties and disciplines. Despite the global evidences supporting interprofessional collaboration, there continues to be issues in understanding its manifestations and influence on healthcare delivery in resource-limited environments like Nigeria. Therefore, identified the barriers to effective collaboration among healthcare professionals in Kogi State Specialist Hospital (KSSH), Lokoja, Nigeria and assessed the role of technology in overccoming the barriers to effective collaboration among healthcare professionals in Kogi State Specialist Hospital Lokoja. Anchored on Conflict Theory, the study adopted descriptive survey research design using a structured questionnaire administered to a census sample of 249 healthcare in the study area and the data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the formulated hypotheses were tested using both simple and Multiple Linear Regression. Technology was found to be a strong predictor of collaboration, with regression results showing that digital tools significantly enhanced teamwork (B = 0.823, β = 0.681, t = 11.27, p < 0.001). However, professional rivalry, communication breakdowns and role ambiguity were barriers identified as significant impediments. The study concluded that technology plays a critical role in overcoming barriers to effective interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professionals in achieving efficient, patient-centered, and sustainable healthcare delivery in Nigeria and recommended the need for institutionalisation of inclusive collaboration frameworks that transcend professional boundaries, continuous interprofessional training that encourages role appreciation, investment in digital health infrastructure and a deliberate strategy to address professional rivalry and role ambiguity among healthcare professionals.