Background: An older population increases the need for functioning collaboration between home health care and primary care, which is a basis for the development of good and close care. There are currently no common guidelines on how collaboration should be when it comes to different healthcare systems in Europe. A good collaboration is necessary between care providers and the various professions to meet the patient's needs and to maintain safe care.

Aim: The aim was to describe how district nurses active in home health care experience conditions that facilitate or hinder collaboration with doctors in primary care

Method: Based on the purpose of this study, a qualitative interview study with focus groups with an inductive approach was chosen, analysed on the basis of Graneheim & Lundman´s (2004) content analysis. The study was carried out in the south part in Sweden, where four municipalities with a total of 17 district nurses working in home health care participated. The focus groups were divided between three to five participants per group. 

Results: The analysis results in two different themes: Conditions that facilitate collaboration and Conditions that make cooperation difficult and eight subcategories. In the results, it emerged that the continuity and person-centredness of the collaboration was made more difficult in connection with a lack of resources. An improved collaboration was demonstrated through direct contact between professions and by creating professional relationships between district nurses and doctors.

Conclusions: In order for collaboration to work well, it is required that district nurses in home health care together with primary care doctors work continuously as a team. Good communication is required to work towards person-centred care.