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Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care

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ISL Seminar 15.03.18

Speakers: Sonia Bussu and Mirza Lalani - researchers in residence. Martin Marshall - PI

Title: A participatory evaluation of Integrated Care in East London

Abstract: Despite a growing body of literature, there remains a mixed evidence base to suggest which elements of integrated care are most effective and how to implement them successfully. This might also be due to the fact that policy thinking around integrated care is struggling to translate into organisation change at the point of delivery. Better understanding of patterns of collaborations and integrated pathways is crucial to identify frontline staff's OD needs and provide adequate support.

Our work employs the Researcher in Residence (RiR) model, where the researcher is embedded in the in organisations they are evaluating, as a key member of the delivery team. We look at the frontline level to assess progress towards integrated care in East London and share preliminary findings on how frontline staff from acute, community, and social care work together to deliver more joined up care, highlighting the challenges they face. We focus on organisational development strategies aiming to facilitate greater coordination.  Initial findings suggest that while work on integrated care has enabled some level of collaborative working at strategic levels in partner organisations, on the frontline, while professionals welcome a multi-professional approach they are however grappling with issues such as professional boundaries, mutual trust and accountability, in a context of limited resources and precarious funding streams for new integrated services.