INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN HEALTH AND COMPREHENSIVE CARE: CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION

Resumo

Interdisciplinarity constitutes a relevant strategy for responding to the complexity of health needs and overcoming fragmented care practices. This article aims to reflect on interdisciplinarity in health as a foundation for interprofessional collaboration and the construction of comprehensive care, discussing its potential and the challenges related to communication, teamwork, leadership, and co-responsibility for care. The reflection highlights that the presence of different professional categories in a service does not, in isolation, characterize an interdisciplinary practice; the effective integration of knowledge, skills, and decisions around shared objectives is necessary. Effective communication, clarity of roles, trust, collaborative leadership, recognition of professional competencies, and person-centered care stand out as essential elements for strengthening collaboration. Although evidence points to favorable repercussions on quality and certain care outcomes, challenges related to professional hierarchies, power inequalities, service organization, resource availability, and training for collective work persist. It is concluded that strengthening interdisciplinarity requires changes in training, management, and professional relationships, so that the diversity of knowledge is converted into integrated, shared care oriented towards people’s needs.