RIPLS consists of 19 items in three subscales labelled "teamwork and collaboration", "professional identity" and "roles and responsibilities".
An extended 29-item scale has emerged a three factor sub-scale structure (teamwork and collaboration, professional identity, patient-centredness) [ 21, 22] which also needs further verification [ 37].
RIPLS is a validated questionnaire consisting of 23 statements each rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 =strongly disagree to 5 =strongly agree) and scored in three domains: teamwork and collaboration, professional identity and patient centredness.
The factor analysis from which the RIPLS was derived revealed three factors - Teamwork & Collaboration, Professional Identity and Roles & Responsibilities - which formed the basis of three subscales (see Table 2).
The RIPLS was originally formulated in 1999 by Parsell and Bligh[ 5] as a 19-item questionnaire consisting of 3 subscales (Teamwork and Collaboration; Professional Identity; and Roles and Responsibilities).
Key strategies for intervention activities included public education through mass media, inter-sectoral collaboration, professional education and involvement, marketing and organizational development, legislation and coordination, policy development as well as research and evaluation.
21 They reported a number of barriers to full collaboration with professionals, such as preparation, the professionals' moderation style and the lack of individual support on site.
Second, according to VEAs, collaboration between professionals and volunteers is also quite an issue as professionals consider volunteers their competitors, making them reluctant to share responsibilities with volunteers.
If new forms of collaboration between professionals are initiated, they have to dovetail with the needs and the interests that professionals have.
Establishing close inter-professional collaboration within the professionals' network may further increase the number of referrals.
