Integrative health and social care: More quality information for better decisions

Cameron et al. (2012) presented some findings about the factors that promote and hinder joint working between health and social care services. They organised the work in three different themes: organisational issues; cultural and professional issues; and contextual issues.

According to the work:

there is significant overlap between positive and negative factors, with many of the organisational factors identified in research as promoting joint working also being identified as hindering collaboration when insufficient attention is paid to their importance.

(p. 1)

The work listed some needs for information. Among others, some examples are listed along with the key-messages on page 1:

• Securing the understanding and commitment of staff to the aims and desired outcomes of new partnerships is crucial to the success of joint working, particularly among health professionals.”
• Staff must understand and be committed to objectives and outcomes.
• Defining outcomes that matter to service-users and carers is important.
• Outcomes should be driven to fit users' and carers' needs.

The report shows some information related to judgement from feelings as well:

• Although most service-users and carers report high levels of satisfaction, more can be done to involve them in care planning and influencing future care options.
• On the one hand, users and carers reported to be happy, but it seems that more can be done to improve engagement and influence further actions.
• Joint and integrated services work best when they promote increased user involvement, choice and control.
• It is recommended for integrated services to engage users and promote user choice and control.

Finally, there is the need for having deeper understanding, through the use of a more robust way to conduct the assessment, considering users, providers and the economic perspective.

The key message concludes by (p.1) recommending further studies on a large enough scale to show how joint working for users of services can be effective to the wider health and social care economy.

This example shows that information can lead to evidence. Evidence generates foundations for decision-making. This Unit shows a very curious side to decision-making. It will cover problem-solving, professional judgement and information management. Some usual concepts will be discussed, such as perception, attribution and shortcuts for judgement. Furthermore, some rational models and processes will be presented to support better decisions. At the end, you will access a known case study to apply these concepts and discuss with colleagues.