In health and social care services, developing interprofessional teamwork is required as clients’ service needs become more diverse. However, transitioning from profession-centered practices and network-based collaboration to client-centered teamwork has challenges. It demands a new way of thinking and the construction of interprofessional identity. Such an identity is co-constructed in team interaction, simultaneously with the development of interpersonal relationships.
The research project Interprofessional Communication in Health and Social Care Teams (MOVUS) examines how multidisciplinary identity, relational dynamics, and shared communication competence are constructed in social and healthcare team interaction. The data consists of recorded interactions of client teams. The study adopts a constitutive view of communication, a social constructionist approach, and applies discursive methods of analysis. The research provides knowledge on how interprofessional identities and relationships evolve, what strengthens them, and how shared communication competence is built in teams. The findings will be applied to improve client services, enhance professional education, and support the development of an interprofessional work culture in health and social care contexts.