Public and private funders have encouraged, and sometimes required, diverse people and organizations to work together in partnerships in order to achieve complex health and health system goals. However, it is often difficult for people in partnerships to work together in a satisfying way. Results from numerous partnership evaluations suggest that although partner satisfaction does not assure high quality plans and effective interventions, satisfaction does have consequences for partners' involvement in and commitment to a partnership, which are critical for partnership sustainability. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research examining the factors that may be related to partner satisfaction. As part of a cross-sectional, national study on partnership functioning, 815 individuals from 63 partnerships were surveyed about their partnership experiences. We hypothesized that partners' ratings of leadership effectiveness, administration and management effectiveness, efficiency, decision-making processes, benefits, drawbacks, conflict, and power differentials in the partnership would be related to partner satisfaction. This hypothesis was tested using measures developed for the national study that have demonstrated reliability and validity. Findings based on multiple regression analysis generally support the hypothesis and indicate specific areas in which people who lead and manage partnerships should focus their attention in order to keep partners satisfied.
Learning Objectives: 1) Describe key partnership characteristics related to partner satisfaction. 2) Identify actions that can be taken to improve partner satisfaction.
Keywords: Collaboration, Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.