Interdisciplinarity in mental health care practices: an integrative literature review

Abstract

This is a qualitative research, built as an integrative review focused on compiling and analyzing  information on the expression of interdisciplinarity in  mental health care practices. Data collection took  place between May and August 2021, in the BVS,  SciELO, Scopus, Academic Google, OpenGrey, and ProQuest databases, in Portuguese, English, Spanish,  French, or Italian. Using the SPIDER strategy, the following were defined: scenario, subject of interest,  design, evaluation, and type of research, allowing the  bibliographic profile of the records to be presented;  characterizing the practices and analyze the characteristics of interdisciplinarity in mental health  work. The 43 productions that made up the corpus of  the study were analyzed descriptively and using  thematic content analysis technique, discussed in the light of the theoretical framework of collective health.  Four thematic units were identified: ‘concept’, ‘operationality’, ‘objective’, and ‘attributes’. It was  concluded that there is a theoretical emptying  regarding what characterizes interdisciplinarity in the  mental health work scenario; that interdisciplinarity represents an opportunity to overcome the  biomedical model of care; and that there are limits  and possibilities for its realization. Teamwork, matrix  support, and continuing education are considered to  favor an interdisciplinary attitude.