Background: Within the Ontario context, a recent shift towards integrated care has led to primary care reforms that have aimed to achieve the quadruple aim benchmarks. Particular focus has been placed on population health management, a key pillar of the quadruple aim metrics, which recognizes and aims to address the broader social, structural and institutional determinants that impact upon population health outcomes. As a result, this study aims to identify and describe the key characteristics of integrated primary care and social care models, programs, and initiatives in Ontario that aim to address the social determinants of health. It also aims to identify barriers and facilitators in the implementation of these integrated care initiatives to support future implementation efforts. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design was utilized and was conducted in two phases: 1) document analysis; and 2) 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews with policymakers, managers/ administrators, clinicians and service providers involved in leading integrated primary and social care initiatives in Ontario. Results: Developing and implementing these initiatives had primarily required the introduction of new governance and delivery arrangements. This included the adoption of shared governance structures where equal decision-making authority was often established between health and social partners, and the introduction of a system navigator role who was commonly co-located within primary care. There were minimal insights in relation to the development of new financial arrangements aside from a few joint funding agreements, as almost all initiatives did not share financial resources and few modified staff or provider remuneration. Initiatives experienced barriers including a lack of permanent or long-term funding and technological infrastructure to support patient tracking, follow-up, and information sharing between health and social partners. However, the system navigator position was found to be an essential role in bridging communication gaps between sectors and delivering integrated care for clients. In addition, factors such as pre-existing informal and formal partnerships between primary care and social care organizations, communication and trust between health and social partners, and organizational leadership support for integration were viewed as enablers. Discussion and Conclusions: The lessons learned from participants’ experiences in planning and implementing integrated primary care and social care models are timely and can inform future implementation and scale up as the province continues to move towards integrated care arrangements in efforts to achieve the quadruple aim benchmarks. Specific recommendations for policy and future research are proposed. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH) / Health systems in Canada are positioned to treat symptoms of health issues instead of addressing the root causes of illness and disease, such as lack of housing, access to healthy and nutritious food, and stable employment opportunities. Recently, health system reforms in Ontario have shifted to population health-based approaches to care which recognize and aim to address these non-medical determinants of health outcomes. Primary care, which is often an individual's first point of contact with the health system, may be uniquely positioned to fulfill this mandate due to the capabilities of primary care providers to develop and sustain relationships with patients along the life course. Primary care practitioners may be more aware of patients' underlying social needs that result in adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to identify models of care in Ontario that coordinate care for patients between health and social services such as housing and employment support. It was conducted in two phases. Phase one included a targeted document search which used government policy documents, stakeholder websites, and journal databases to identify these integrated models of care in Ontario. In phase two, 13 stakeholders identified from existing models were interviewed to explore their experiences with models that integrate primary care and social care services and the barriers and facilitators to implementing such models. The study found that most initiatives had made modifications to governance and delivery arrangements to support implementation, including the adoption of shared governance approaches and a system navigator position responsible for coordinating care for clients. The initiatives primarily experienced barriers with funding insecurity, communication and information sharing between health and social partners, and technology. However, communication and trust between health and social partners and organizational leadership support were factors that supported the implementation of initiatives. The findings from this research may support future implementation and scale-up of these coordinated models of care in Ontario.

Yes / The prevalence of dementia is rising worldwide and many people will die with the disease. Symptoms towards the end of life may be inadequately managed and informal and professional carers poorly supported. There are few evidence-based interventions to improve end-of-life care in advanced dementia. To develop an integrated, whole systems, evidence-based intervention that is pragmatic and feasible to improve end-of-life care for people with advanced dementia and support those close to them. Design: A realist-based approach in which qualitative and quantitative data assisted the development of statements. These were incorporated into the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to achieve consensus on intervention components. Components were mapped to underlying theory of whole systems change and the intervention described in a detailed manual. Setting/participants: Data were collected from people with dementia, carers and health and social care professionals in England, from expert opinion and existing literature. Professional stakeholders in all four countries of the United Kingdom contributed to the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method process. Results: A total of 29 statements were agreed and mapped to individual, group, organisational and economic/political levels of healthcare systems. The resulting main intervention components are as follows: (1) influencing local service organisation through facilitation of integrated multi-disciplinary care, (2) providing training and support for formal and informal carers and (3) influencing local healthcare commissioning and priorities of service providers. Conclusion: Use of in-depth data, consensus methods and theoretical understanding of the intervention components produced an evidence-based intervention for further testing in end-of-life care in advanced dementia.

Frailty poses a complex challenge for some people through their experience of ageing. In Wales, devolution requires organisations to use a whole systems approach with a model of partnership to deliver public services. An integrated care approach is offered to meet the service user focus or ‗value demand‘ which impacts on clinical, professional, organisational and policy levels within the system. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore whether there was a difference between integrated health and social care day services and non- integrated health and social care day services. In doing so, answering the questions, how were these services different, what were the differences as perceived by the participants, why were they different, what could be learned from this study and how could health and social care services integrate in practice? The study utilized Gadamer‘s interpretative hermeneutics with a single intrinsic case study design. Using this approach ensured that the unique voice of the individual lived experience was heard and interpreted within the whole system of the study. The participants were service users, carers and staff in a day hospital, an outpatient clinic, day centre, reablement team and a joint day care facility. The methods included a survey questionnaire (SF12v2 and London Handicap Scale), in-depth interviews, observations; and historical and service documents; and reflective diary. Data collection occurred January 2005 to December 2006. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed separately. The qualitative data was analysed using Gadamer‘s five stage approach developed by Fleming et al (2003) and Nvivo 7.0. The embedded quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 13.0. Triangulation was achieved through the use of a meta matrix which merged the qualitative and quantitative data. The difference between integrated and non integrated services is expressed through the four themes, ‗the study participants‘, ‗commissioning and decommissioning integrated services‘, ‗the journey within day services‘, ‗navigating services and orchestrating care‘. The four themes were developed through a strategy used for interpreting the findings, which was to follow the study questions, propositions and ‗emic‘ questions. The differences between the integrated and non integrated services were in the meaning of their purpose, culture, level of integration, team orientation of practice and the model of service user/carer relationship observed within the services. The thesis identified challenges in respect of integrated working such as concept confusion, negative experiences of care for frail or older people, a vertical gap in knowledge transfer between strategic organisation, the operational services and service users. Mapping each service level of integration and team orientation to the model of service user and carer relationship, found that the level of team orientation and integration does not appear to be proportionate to the service user and carer relationship. The thesis concludes that in order to attempt to answer the question as to whether these day services can integrate in the practice, all levels of the system should focus on the service user/carer relationship. We need to understand service user diagnosis, how its characteristics and effect are interpreted by the service user, carer, professional and wider society in relation to independence and autonomy. It argues that knowledge emerges at this micro level (service user and carer relationship) and how we engage with this relationship and manage the knowledge we gain from it (both vertically and horizontally), will lead us to understand how we can ensure that integration occurs and that services in the future are person focussed.

The aim of this research programme was to explore ehealth technology in pharmacy practice in Scotland and, by doing so, contribute original knowledge to this area. Strategists worldwide believe technology has the potential to promote quality, safety and efficiency in healthcare. This has been reflected in national ehealth policies designed to support collaborative working between medical and non-medical healthcare practitioners and, more recently, the whole health and social care team. A meta-narrative systematic review was conducted to explore and contextualise research related to healthcare professionals’ views of the adoption of ehealth technologies to support shared care. Findings indicate the importance of organisational development and training for core and optional ehealth services with pharmacists particularly under-represented in ehealth research. Socio-technical systems theory and the computer supported cooperative working framework were adopted to explore healthcare practitioners’ perceptions of ehealth in relation to integrated care. Findings from the review indicate ehealth research continues to focus on doctors and nurses. No ehealth application was perceived to be an unqualified success with the socio-technical gap still evident. Multiple case studies were conducted to develop explanatory theory around the digital literacy experiences, education and training related needs of pharmacy staff in the NHS Grampian area. Digital literacy levels were self-reported as basic with mixed views on the need for formal education and training. Findings indicate organisational and social factors may act as restraining forces against implementation of technology in pharmacy and associated digital literacy training. A final theory testing, systematic review was conducted into digital literacy training experiences of pharmacy staff applying Kirkpatrick’s four level model. It found a lack of evidence of specific, measurable digital literacy levels but indications that suggest digital literacy should be included in pharmacy education at all levels and career stages. This research provides novel insight into ehealth and digital literacy in pharmacy practice. Combined ehealth, education and pharmacy research has been demonstrated to be an under-researched area therefore these findings contribute original knowledge.

Objective: According to the Joint Commission (2012), about 80% of serious medical errors are related to miscommunication between healthcare providers. The Joint Commission (2012) recommended the utilization of standardized communication tools to reduce the number of medical errors related to the miscommunication. The Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication tool is a standardized tool that has been used to improve the effectiveness of communication between healthcare providers. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of using SBAR communication tool for warm handoff between primary care providers and behavioral health providers in order to provide a continuous and complete transition of care for patients with psychiatric disorders or psychosocial issues. Method: A mixed method design was implemented in an integrated primary care clinic at two locations in Phoenix, Arizona. A brief presentation about the SBAR tool and copies of the SBAR tool was provided for the clinic staff. Data were gathered from four participants (two nurse practitioners and two behavioral health workers) using structured observation, pre-and post-test surveys, and structured interviews. Length of study was one month. Results: During the data collection, there were 40 observed warm handoffs, 12 unobserved warm handoffs between primary care nurse practitioners and behavioral health workers. Seventy-five percent of the participants felt that the SBAR helped them in organizing their thoughts and providing/obtaining adequate information during warm handoff. They reported satisfaction when using the SBAR tool. There was no statistically significant difference in the scores of collaboration and satisfaction about care decisions between pre and post-SBAR intervention. Conclusion: The SBAR communication tool has the potential to improve communication between primary care providers and behavioral health workers to improve the quality and safety of care for patients with psychosocial concerns. Utilizing SBAR may increase teamwork and ensures adequate hand-off information on the warm handoff. Multiple PDSA cycles should be conducted to refine the change and make it applicable and sustainable in the integrated care setting.

Thesis advisor: Rocío Calvo / Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to use mental health service, even after controlling for various social, environmental, and health factors. Mental health services disparities between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites have been well-documented and consistent over time. However, very little is known about the impact mental health care organizations have on Hispanics’ access to mental health care, especially since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The three papers in this dissertation utilize the 2010, 2014, and 2016 waves of the National Mental Services Survey (N-MHSS) to assess the impact of the ACA on Hispanics’ access to mental health care and mental health care organizations’ provision of integrated services. The N-MHSS is a national repository of data on the mental health organizations in the United States. This dataset was created to report the characteristics and client enrollment at mental health care organizations. Paper 1 uses the 2014 N-MHSS to describe the structural characteristics of mental health care organizations according to the proportion of Hispanics they serve and the organizations’ structural characteristics in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states. Paper 2 uses the 2010, 2014, and 2016 N-MHSS waves to examines the impact of the ACA and the health safety net on Hispanic admissions at mental health care organizations. These three waves were merged together using a repeated cross-sectional design to assess whether Hispanic admissions increased after the implementation of the ACA. The final paper uses the 2014 and 2016 N-MHSS waves to assesses whether integrated care has increased at Hispanic-serving organizations compared with mainstream organizations two years after the implementation of the ACA. This paper also assessed whether the increased funding for integrated services under the ACA has disproportionately affected mainstream organizations compared with Hispanic-serving organizations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Com a longevidade, os indivíduos desenvolvem doenças crônicas e degenerativas, aumentando o número de internações hospitalares e, consequentemente, o tempo de internação. Para a gestão eficaz, é fundamental que o cuidado seja integrado. Assim, os objetivos deste estudo foram: analisar a utilização do Interdisciplinary Method Instrument (Método INTERMED) durante a internação e pós-alta hospitalar; enumerar os aspectos biopsicossociais e o sistema de saúde de pessoas idosas hospitalizadas; identificar a presença de reinternação; correlacionar os escores do INTERMED com as variáveis tempo de permanência hospitalar e reinternação. Para isso, foram utilizadas informações de banco de dados de 180 pessoas idosas internadas em hospital filantrópico do município de São Paulo, como os sociodemográficos, tempo de permanência hospitalar, número de reinternações, Método INTERMED e Escala de Mayo. Houve predomínio de participantes do sexo masculino com média de idade de 72,1 anos, casados (80,5%), e diferença significativa entre os grupos para idade, estado civil, tempo de permanência, escore do INTERMED, encaminhado ao serviço de psicologia e social, o uso de antimicrobiano e solicitação de home care. O escore do domínio biológico foi o de maior valor (p=0,479), porém não houve diferenças significativas entre os escores do INTERMED e reinternação. Nas análises de curva ROC, a área sob a curva foi de 0,426, com ponto de corte de 10/15 pontos e com sensibilidade de 0,714 e especificidade de 0,316, indicando ponto de corte ideal para o INTERMED para predição de Mayo>= 10 é 15 pontos. Os resultados têm que ser encarados como sua aplicação ampliada a diferentes populações e melhor avaliado sob a perspectiva de implicação no processo de trabalho diário da equipe interprofissional. No entanto, visualiza-se vantagens na operacionalização do modelo biopsicossocial, visando a integralidade do cuidado e a influência na gestão da clínica de idosos internados em instituição hospitalar. Espera-se que este estudo possa contribuir para melhoria da gestão clínica, buscando a integralidade do cuidado e aprimorar o processo de trabalho da equipe interprofissional / With longevity, individuals develop chronic and degenerative diseases, increasing the number of hospital admissions and consequently the length of hospital stay. For effective management, it is critical that care be integrated. Thus, the objectives of this study were: to analyze the use of the Interdisciplinary Method Instrument during hospitalization and after hospital discharge; to enumerate the biopsychosocial and health system aspects of hospitalized elderly people; identify the presence of readmission; to correlate the INTERMED scores with the variables length of hospital stay and readmission. For this, we used information from a database of 180 elderly people hospitalized in a philanthropic hospital in the city of São Paulo. Data were: sociodemographic, length of hospital stay, number of readmissions, INTERMED Method and May Scale. There was a predominance of male participants, mean age of 72.1 years, married. There was a significant difference between groups for age, marital status, length of stay, INTERMED score, referral to psychology and social service, antimicrobial use and Home Care request. The biological domain score was the highest value. There were no significant differences between the INTERMED scores and re-hospitalization. The results have to be considered as preliminary, that their application has to be extended to different populations and better evaluated from the perspective of their implication in the daily work process of the interprofessional team. However, it is possible to visualize advantages in the operationalization of the biopsychosocial model aiming at the integrality of the care and its influence in the management of the clinic of elderly hospitalized in a hospital institution. It is hoped that this study may contribute to the improvement of clinical management aiming at the integrality of care and to improve the work process of the interprofessional team

People with severe mental illness experience medical comorbidities to a greater extent than the general population. When hospitalized in general hospital settings, they experience poorer outcomes and are experienced as difficult by nurses. An understanding of the experience of hospitalization from the patient's perspective is important to improving care and outcomes for this population. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of nonpsychiatric hospitalization for persons with severe mental illness. Heideggarian phenomenology provided the philosophical underpinning and informed the methodology employed. Participants were recruited through mental health providers. Ten individuals with severe mental illness participated in minimally structured interviews and described their experience of hospitalization on a medical-surgical unit. Data, including transcribed interviews and field notes, were analyzed within the hermeneutic tradition as described by Cohen et al. (2000). The lived experience of nonpsychiatric hospitalization was expressed in four themes: taking care of me (subthemes: being cared for, not being cared for), it's my life, on my toes (subthemes: needing an advocate, managing my mental health), and being a good patient. Care providers' comportment, perception of the patient's illness, attentiveness, responsiveness, and personalized caring behaviors characterized the participant experience of being cared for or not being cared for. It's my life reflected participants' desire to be informed and involved so they could contribute to their recovery. Participants felt the need to be on my toes in order to look out for and advocate for themselves. The need to be on my toes extended to the management of a chronic illness while hospitalized for an unrelated acute condition. The final theme reflected the perceived patient role obligation to be a "good patient". Findings were consistent with the literature regarding experiences of hospitalization from the perspective of persons without mental illness. Identified themes emphasize the critical importance of the nurse-patient relationship to the patient experience. There are significant implications for how nurses come to know their patients in medical-surgical settings so that they can effectively personalize care. Reflective practices may empower nurses to solicit assistance and support to improve caring practices / text

Abstract: Introduction: Developed countries are integrating care for populations living with complex socio-sanitary needs to improve the quality of care. In 2004 the Québec government re-organised its health system, promoting the province-wide implementation of local health networks. Understanding how integrated care models are implemented in different settings may give insights on which factors determine the effective implementation of the model. Providers, as those who deliver services, are at the heart of these reforms. Their perspectives are therefore fundamental in identifying the best strategies for improving the implementation of integrated care models. This dissertation aimed at 1) describing and comparing the implementation of an integrated care model in different contexts as perceived by providers, 2) identifying factors providers perceived as influencing the implementation of an integrated care model. Theory and methods: Descriptive-comparison of the integrated care model along the lines of a framework proposing 6 dimensions (clinical, professional, organisational, systemic, functional, and normative) of integration. Thematic analysis along the lines of a framework positing that structural, organisational, provider, innovation, and patient factors would influence the implementation of an integrated care model. A qualitative multiple case study was done in three cases in Québec based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews of 28 providers. Results: The three cases revealed a great overlap in the implementation of the six dimensions of the integrated care model, reflecting the influence of the systemic dimension, which was mostly prioritised by government since 2004. None the less, there was some variability in the implementation of some clinical components like case management, reflecting the influence of the local context. Structural and organisational factors facilitated and/or hindered the implementation of different components of the integrated care model. For instance, government policy and mergers mainly enabled the implementation of administrative components of the integrated care model at the expense of its clinical components. Provider, innovation and patient factors mainly facilitated the implementation of the integrated care model. Conclusion: There was great similarity and moderate differences in the implementation of the integrated care model across the three cases. Structural and organisational factors variably influenced the implementation of the integrated care model. They were necessary conditions for the integration of services from a systemic point of view at the expense of some clinical components. / Introduction : Les pays développés cherchent à intégrer les services afin d'améliorer la qualité des soins aux populations vivant avec des besoins socio-sanitaires complexes. Dans cette perspective, le gouvernement du Québec a réorganisé en 2004 son système de santé, en promouvant la mise en oeuvre de réseaux locaux de services à l’échelle locale. Une meilleure compréhension de la façon dont les modèles de services intégrés sont implantés dans différents contextes permet d’identifier les facteurs qui déterminent l’efficience de cette implantation. Les professionnels, en tant que ceux qui incarnent les services, sont au coeur de ces transformations, et leurs perspectives sont donc fondamentales pour identifier les meilleures stratégies qui permettent d’améliorer l’intégration des services. Ainsi, sur la base de leurs perspectives, ce mémoire vise à 1) décrire et comparer la mise en oeuvre d’un modèle de services intégrés dans différents contextes, et 2) identifier les facteurs influençant la mise en oeuvre de ce modèle de services intégrés. Théorie et méthodes : Un cadre conceptuel suggérant six dimensions (clinique, professionnelle, organisationnelle, systémiques, fonctionnelle et normative) de l’intégration a été utilisé pour décrire et comparer les modèles de services intégrés. Puis, un cadre conceptuel suggérant que les facteurs structurels, organisationnels, professionnels, de l’innovation, ainsi que les caractéristiques des patients influencent la mise en oeuvre des modèles de services intégré. Une étude de cas multiples a été menée dans trois territoires au Québec, sur la base d'une analyse documentaire et d'entrevues semi-structurées réalisées auprès de 28 professionnels. Résultats : Les trois cas ont révélé une grande convergence dans la mise en oeuvre des six dimensions des services intégrés, reflétant l’importance de l'influence de la dimension systémique, qui fut de facto la priorité du gouvernement depuis 2004. Néanmoins, l’analyse montre une certaine variabilité dans la mise en oeuvre de certaines composantes cliniques, comme la gestion des cas, reflétant l'influence du contexte local sur leur mise en oeuvre. Les professionnels considèrent que les facteurs structurels et organisationnels facilitent et empêchent la mise en oeuvre selon les composantes du modèle des services intégrés considérées. Par exemple, la politique gouvernementale et les fusions ont permis la mise en place des composantes principalement administratives du modèle des services intégrés au détriment de ses composantes cliniques. Les facteurs liés aux professionnels, à l'innovation en tant que telle et aux caractéristiques des patients, ont majoritairement facilité la mise en oeuvre du modèle de services intégrés. Conclusion : La mise en oeuvre des services intégrés est donc caractérisée par une forte convergence, bien que parsemée de quelques différences. Les facteurs structurels et organisationnels ont été à la fois une condition nécessaire à l’intégration des services sur le plan systémique, et une condition défavorable d’un point de vue clinique, au moins pour certaines composantes.

Introduction. Bien que rappelé dans la loi de Santé Publique de 2004, la prise en charge des déterminants de santé liés au vieillissement est insuffisamment prise en compte dans la démarche de soins primaires par les médecins généralistes (MG). Objectifs En comprendre les raisons et révéler les tensions éthiques qui en découlent. Quelles pistes pour améliorer cette prise en charge ? Méthodologie Phase 1 : Entretiens semi-directifs auprès de MG. Phase 2 : Analyse des comptes rendus d'hospitalisations. Phase 3 : Analyse d'une méthode de coordination ville-hôpital. Résultats Les MG reconnaissent faire de la prévention cardiovasculaire essentiellement. Pour les autres déterminants, ils sont favorables à un transfert de compétence dont le champ reste à définir, mais ils souhaitent rester au centre de la prise en charge préventive. Les services hospitaliers abordent peu la prévention du vieillissement et ne prennent le relai que sur ce qui relève de leur spécialité. Les raisons sont multiples dont notamment le mode de financement et une approche médicale par pathologie. Conclusion La médecine intégrée devrait permettre une prise en charge de ces déterminants au prix d'un changement de paradigme concernant l'organisation des soins allant au-delà d'une meilleure coordination interprofessionnelle et ville-hôpital. / Introduction Although it is recalled in the 2004 public health law, taking care of health determinants linked to ageing is inadequately taken into account in the primary care procedure by general practionners (GP) Objectives To understand the reasons and reveal the ethical tensions linked to this. How can we take care of this better? Methodology Phase 1: semi-directive interviews with GPs. Phase 2: analysis of hospital reports. Phase 3: Analysis of a hospital-GP coordination method. Results GPs acknowledge doing mainly cardiovascular prevention. For the other determinants, they are favourable to an area of competence transfer, but they want to remain central in the preventive action. Hospital wards do not deal much with ageing prevention and only deal with what is linked to their speciality. There are many reasons for this of which funding and a medical approach per pathology. Conclusion Integrated medecine should enable to take care of these determinants. The care organisation model will have to change with a better hopital -GP coordination.