Challenges

Challenges

• Public health and primary care working in silos,
• Lack of interprofessional team structure,
• Complexity of partnership,
• Lack of community engagement or development.

Working in Silos
Public health and primary care organizations working in silos and the lack of interprofessional team structures are significant challenges to building a collaborative approach to program and service delivery. This can be associated with many factors, such as turf protection, bureaucratic structures that limit risk taking and out-of-box thinking, dominance of medical-centred care, and lack of incentives for collaborating across sectors.

One team member’s comment: “I think that there has to be a stepping out of the particular silo that you are trained in, especially if you were trained in a silo like medicine for example. And then try stepping into the shoes of the individuals on the team. This takes some reflection and hypothetical thinking but it’s worth it.”

Complexity of the Partnership
The collaboration may involve two or more different organizations with multiple partners. This can be further complicated by the collaborative partnership spanning a large geographical area.

Lack of Community Engagement or Development
Another significant challenge is the lack of community engagement and a client-centred approach. Therefore, there may be little to no community involvement in identifying community issues and problem solving which can be a significant limitation for your collaboration.