The relationship between swift trust and interaction behaviors on interdisciplinary and non-interdisciplinary teams in nursing education

The extent to which team interdisciplinarity affects trust and communicative interaction behaviors in healthcare settings has received limited attention. Undergraduate nursing students must understand and work with interdisciplinary team-based dynamics. This study examined the relationship between swift trust and interaction behaviors among nursing student teams and explored whether team interdisciplinarity moderated that relationship. In this cross-sectional, comparative, quantitative, descriptive study, students from a Nursing program (n = 63) at one university and a Design program (n = 65) at another university in Taiwan comprised the interdisciplinary group. Remaining nursing students (n = 147) comprised the non-interdisciplinary group. Self-report questionnaires included 10 items to assess perceived team swift trust (cognition-based and affect-based) and 24 items to assess students' interaction behaviors (constructive controversy, helping behaviors, and spontaneous communication). Canonical correlation analysis showed the teams' cognition-based—but not affect-based—trust correlated positively with each interaction behavior. Moderation models indicated that the interdisciplinary team negatively moderated the relationship between teams' cognition-based trust and constructive controversy. In conclusion, team members' higher perceived cognition-based trust is associated with higher perceived interaction behaviors, but team interdisciplinarity may negatively impact that relationship. Nursing educators may use these insights to improve outcomes for both educational and professional healthcare teams.