Collaborative learning in practice: An exploratory case study in a Dutch interprofessional community network

Background Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is essential for person-centered care yet sustaining it across organizational boundaries remains challenging. Collaborative learning is often viewed as key to strengthening IPC, but little is known about how it unfolds in day-to-day interprofessional practice. Aim To examine how professionals perceived collaborative learning and the conditions shaping it in an interprofessional community network, and how learning was enacted in routine practice. Methods An exploratory qualitative case study was conducted in a municipality-based interprofessional community care network in the Netherlands coordinating support for community-dwelling older adults with complex health and social care needs. Twelve professionals (healthcare, social work, municipal services) participated in interviews; seven of eight routine network meetings were observed over 14 months. Reflexive thematic analysis integrated interview and observation data. Results Interviews framed collaborative learning mainly as everyday coordination, information exchange, and relationship building; learning was described as relational and spontaneous rather than intentional or structured. Observations showed collegial, agenda-driven meetings that supported continuity and trust, yet offered few moments of collective reflection or follow-up, leaving learning largely implicit and individually experienced. Conclusion Collaborative learning in this network was often conflated with collaboration itself. Making learning a supported, visible, deliberate, and shared process may help networks foster collective reflection and improvement in interprofessional care.