Cultivating Acute Care Rehabilitation Team Collaboration Using the Kawa Model

Purpose: Effective healthcare team collaboration is imperative for quality client-centered care, job satisfaction, and overall morale. Rehabilitation team collaboration can be impacted by high productivity demands, differing backgrounds of individual team members, and the unpredictable healthcare environment. The Kawa (river) model, a culturally-neutral model of occupational therapy practice, has been shown to improve communication and collaboration with its use of metaphors, but its utility in various contexts to enhance collaborative practice is still being explored. The purpose of this study was to implement an evidence-based teambuilding intervention with use of the Kawa model to investigate the impact on acute care rehabilitation team collaboration. Method: A 5-week pretest-posttest study was completed with a group of eight rehabilitation team members, consisting of occupational therapists, physical therapists, and a speech language pathologist, in an acute care setting. Pre and post-surveys were utilized to gather quantitative and qualitative data on perceptions of team collaboration, knowledge of the Kawa model, and the model’s utility for collaboration. Results: Outcomes showed overall mean improvements in agreement that the Kawa model provides a common method of communication, and 100% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that use of the Kawa model can improve acute care rehabilitation team collaboration. Qualitative post-survey responses indicated an enhanced understanding of the components of effective team collaboration. Conclusions & Recommendations: Team collaboration was cultivated with use of the Kawa model. The model provided a successful method for the acute care team to openly discuss and collaboratively problem-solve how to maximize their team flow. Further study of the Kawa model’s utility to improve collaboration in various contexts with broader participant groups is recommended, as well as study of longitudinal effects of a teambuilding intervention with use of the Kawa model

The Dynamic Use of the Kawa Model: A Scoping Review

Background: The Kawa model, a framework to guide culturally relevant occupational therapy, has gained recognition and become more widely used in practice. Research on the model thus far, while still relatively sparse, provides guidance for the model’s use, including its strengths and facets that require further exploration to support its use and effectiveness in dynamic ways. Method: A scoping review was completed to gather, organize, appraise, and synthesize the current research evidence on use of the model. Results: Findings support the Kawa model’s culturally flexible application and its capacity to garner client-centered qualitative information, as well as to build therapeutic relationships in a variety of settings. Challenges to the model’s use include therapists’ inexperience limiting effectiveness and the need for additional quantitative assessment measures to supplement the qualitative findings gathered during use of the Kawa. Limitations to this review include author preconceptions, homogeneity among the authors, and inclusion of non-peer-reviewed theses. Conclusion: The Kawa model is an adaptable tool to examine and enhance well-being. It may be most effective when used by experienced therapists and in conjunction with other relevant tools. Further research is recommended to continue to evaluate its dynamic use