RESOLVING INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM CONFLICTS IN HEALTHCARE: EVIDENCE, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Interprofessional team conflicts in healthcare settings are inevitable and can significantly impact patient care quality, team effectiveness, and provider well-being. This comprehensive review examines the nature, sources, and management of conflicts in interprofessional healthcare teams, with particular attention to evidence-based resolution strategies. Drawing from theoretical frameworks including social identity theory, conflict process models, and psychological safety concepts, we analyze how professional identities, power dynamics, and organizational structures influence conflict patterns. The review identifies key conflict types—task, relationship, and process conflicts—and their differential effects on team functioning. Evidence-based resolution approaches are critically evaluated, including structured communication protocols, team charters, transformational conflict management, and emotion regulation strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new conflict dimensions in healthcare teams, particularly in intensive care settings, highlighting the need for context-specific approaches. Implementation challenges are discussed, including structural barriers, professional culture influences, and power imbalances. Emerging trends in conflict resolution research point toward promising directions: team mindfulness, transactive memory systems, conflict as learning opportunity, and virtual team conflict management. The article concludes with practical recommendations for healthcare organizations and future research directions that acknowledge conflict as an opportunity for team development rather than merely a problem to eliminate. Effective conflict management requires multilevel approaches addressing individual competencies, team processes, and organizational systems to transform potential destructive conflicts into catalysts for improved collaboration and patient care.