Health System Integration and Primary Health Care Development
Description and aims
This stream is focused on the role of primary health care in improving health and social care integration. Integration is approached at a number of levels and perspectives with the ultimate objectives of improving health and well being, service user experience and system efficiency/effectiveness.
Key current research areas
Primary Health Care System Development
PHC System Development is concerned with the development of organisations, systems, capacity and frameworks needed for a strong Primary Health Care system. This includes the organisational structures including LHDs, PHNs, and emerging Australian models of Patient Centred Medical Homes and Neighbourhood
Improving integration of services and continuity of care
Improving Integration is concerned with the way that different parts of health and related systems work together to provide comprehensive and well-coordinated primary health care. This includes integration within primary health care and with other sectors, including hospitals.
Access to Primary Health Care
Access to PHC is concerned with patterns of access to quality Primary Health Care. This work includes studies of access to primary health care for people with diabetes, using data from population health surveys and linking records from hospital and other data sets.
Key partners
Partnerships and working together at individual and organisational levels are central to improved integration. Our key partners are consumer and health professional representative organisations, PHNs, LHDs, community organisations and related sectors such as local government, education, employment etc.
Stream lead
Margo Barr leads this stream.
Completed
Projects
Oral Health Project for South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
This was an exploratory study investigating the current utilisation patterns of oral health services provided in SESLHD. The used existing data sets available through the SESLHD Oral Health Service and the Centre for Oral Health Strategy to determine changes to service use related to recent initiatives, patterns of service utilisation and issues of access for a range of high risk population groups.
Qualitative study of two Superclinics
An ethnographic study was performed in two GP Super Clinics (GPSCs) between June 2011 and July 2012 to explore the evolution of organisational and clinical routines relating to collaborative care of chronic illness.