A critical realist evaluation of an integrated care project for vulnerable families in Sydney, Australia

Healthy Homes and Neighbourhoods (HHAN) Integrated Care Initiative was established to improve the care of families with complex health and social needs who reside in Sydney Local Health District. HHAN seeks to provide long-term multi-disciplinary care coordination as well as enhance capacity building and promote integrated care. Findings of this study supported the initial programme theory that engagement and trust building with clients, alongside enhanced collaboration and integration of services, improved outcomes for vulnerable families with complex needs.

(Dis)Integrated Care? Lessons from East London

This paper examines one of the NHS England Pioneers programmes of Integrated Care, which was implemented in three localities in East London, covering the area served by one of the largest hospital groups in the UK and bringing together commissioners, providers and local authorities. The partners agreed to build a model of integrated care that focused on the whole person.

This qualitative and participatory evaluation looked at how an ambitious vision translated into the delivery of integrated care on the ground. The study explored the micro-mechanisms of integrated care relationships based on the experience of health and social care professionals ...

Understanding Young People and Their Care Providers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Integrated Care Within a Tertiary Paediatric Hospital Setting, Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Benefits of integrated care include improved health outcomes and more satisfaction with experiences of care for consumers. For children and young people with chronic and complex health conditions, their care may be fragmented due to the multitude of healthcare providers involved. This paper describes the experiences of integrated care in a paediatric tertiary hospital.

Patient-centred care: The patients’ perspective – A mixed-methods pilot study

Patient centredness is a broad concept, a moral philosophy. Patient-centred care can be viewed as the actions of patient-centredness. One of the most pertinent actions that a healthcare practitioner can utilise to deliver patient-centred care is empathic communication. Whilst many medical programmes include empathetic communication skills as part of their curricula, the recipients of this care are not asked about the relevance of this teaching.

Why communities must be at the centre of the Coronavirus disease 2019 response: Lessons from Ebola and human immunodeficiency virus in Africa

As the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread globally, with no effective treatment or vaccine yet available, governments in many countries have put in place social interventions to control the outbreak. Communities are complex and only their members can inform public health experts about their lived realities, the community’s understanding of the outbreak and what will work locally to reduce transmission. 

Exploring the Team Climate of Health and Social Care Professionals Implementing Integrated Care for Older People in Europe

Team climate describes shared perceptions of organisational policies, practices and procedures. A positive team climate has been linked to better interprofessional collaboration and quality of care. Most studies examine team climate within health or social care organisations. This study uniquely explores the team climate of integrated health and social care teams implementing integrated care initiatives for older people in thirteen sites across seven European countries, and examines the factors which contribute to the development of team climate.

Can Integrated Care Help in Meeting the Challenges Posed on Our Health Care Systems by COVID-19? Some Preliminary Lessons Learned from the European VIGOUR Project

The COVID-19 pandemic puts health and care systems under pressure globally. This current paper highlights challenges arising in the care for older and vulnerable populations in this context and reflects upon possible perspectives for different systems making use of nested integrated care approaches adapted during the work of the EU-funded project VIGOUR (“Evidence based Guidance to Scale-up Integrated Care in Europe”).

Clinicians’ experience of providing care: a rapid review

Health care services internationally are refocussing care delivery towards patient centred, integrated care that utilises effective, efficient and innovative models of care to optimise patient outcomes and system sustainability. Whilst significant efforts have been made to examine and enhance patient experience, to date little has progressed in relation to provider experience. This review aims to explore this knowledge gap by capturing evidence of clinician experience, and how this experience is defined and measured in the context of health system change and innovation.

Supporting Older People to Live Safely at Home – Findings from Thirteen Case Studies on Integrated Care Across Europe

While many different factors can undermine older people’s ability to live safely at home, safety as an explicit aspect of integrated care for older people living at home is an underexplored topic in research. Integrated care services across Europe address older people’s safety in many ways. Further integration of health and social care solutions is necessary to enhance older people’s perceptions of safety.

Patient autonomy in the consultation: How signalling structure can facilitate patient-centred care

This paper explores how patient autonomy may be supported or undermined in doctor-patient interactions through sharing information about what is to happen in the consultation. Doctors use a variety of verbal signalling behaviours with multiple functions. As well as sharing information, these behaviours regulate patient agency in the consultation.