Exploring a social pragmatic approach to overcoming barriers to interprofessional communication and across functional boundaries: A qualitative case study

Communication and collaboration are essential for high-quality patient care, especially in the context of global pandemics. This study explored doctors’ knowledge-sharing behaviors in a local community hospital and the techniques they use to overcome communication barriers across functional boundaries. This study used a qualitative research design over three phases. Phases I (documentation review) and II (non-participatory observations) were iterative and informed the conceptualization of semi-structured interviews in Phase III. Through purposeful, non-random sampling, 14 doctors were recruited. Data were interpreted using thematic analysis, resulting in four emergent themes. The findings revealed that (1) communication skills allowed doctors to ensure accurate interpretation when collaborating across functions, (2) organizational culture and leadership influenced knowledge-sharing behaviors and reflective learning across the organization, and (3) social conversation benefited working relationships, creating personal communication channels. A social pragmatic approach helps doctors overcome communication barriers when collaborating with other healthcare professionals.