Launching the ific sig: engaging non-governmental agencies as partners in integrated care

• Main Authors: Michelle Nelson, Rachel Thombs
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ubiquity Press 2019-08-01
• Series: International Journal of Integrated Care
• Subjects: non-governmental organizations; volunteers; community of practice
• Online Access: https://www.ijic.org/articles/5038

The WHO defined health workers as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health” (1) and includes volunteers in this definition. The inclusion of volunteers suggests that they are not to be considered as a replacement workforce for busy health care providers, but recognized as a distinct member of the health care workforce. As the literature focused on integrated care begins to grow, so too does the attention given to the role of non-profits. Effective integrated care rests on the integration of sectors and organizations to meet the health needs of a population. As agents of the social prescribing movement whereby individuals are connected to non-medical sources of support in their community, non-profits have already started to demonstrate their ability to positively affect the mental, physical and social well-being of individuals (2, 3).  Their work has also contributed to individual and community empowerment, and has encouraged individuals to become more proactive in decisions around their health (4). What remains unclear is the type, nature and extent of the relationship between non-profits/non-profit sector and the state-funded sector in the provision of health and social care, and if and how cultures, values and norms are shared across these sectors and the organizations within them. Aims & Objectives: - Official launch of the SIG with in-person discussion and community-building interactions - Establish priority areas, topics of concern and activities to be addressed by the SIG Target audience: The workshop is designed for health practitioners, educators, managers, researchers, community organizations, health and social care volunteers, and policy makers interested in understanding and enhancing the role and contributions of non-profits as partners in integrated care. Format: Dr. Nelson will act as the facilitator for the Delphi. She has extensive experience with the Delphi method, and has published works utilizing the technique (5).   - Welcome and opening remarks (Dr. Michelle Nelson) (10 minutes) - General introduction of members (open forum) (10 minutes) - Group work:  Modified Delphi to establish consensus on thematic priorities for the SIG - Round one:  Selecting topics perceived as important from a pre-existing list (20 minutes) - Round two:  From all selected topics, rank in order of importance to choose top 10 (20 minutes) - Group discussion (open forum):                 -Brainstorm and identify activities to address ranked priorities (10 minutes)                 -Conduct resource scan to commit to activities (10 minutes)                 -Summary and next steps (10 minutes) Total Time:  90 minutes Learnings/Take away: - Develop consensus perspective on priority areas for the SIG - Establish and commit resources to meet SIG objectives