Community health workers as chronic care coordinators.pdf (196.82 kB)
Community health workers as chronic care coordinators: Evaluation of an Australian Indigenous primary health care program
journal contribution
posted on 2021-06-23, 02:35 authored by B Schmidt, Sandra Campbell, R McDermottObjectives: To explore how a client-centred Chronic Care model was implemented by Indigenous Health Workers (IHWs) at participating sites in a trial of IHW-led case management. To understand the experiences of engaging with the model from the perspective of the IHWs, health team members and clients. Methods: The review was conducted within a cluster randomised trial of the model in six remote Indigenous communities in north Queensland over 18 months. Content analysis was undertaken on 377 project records of health worker activity. Descriptive coding was used to classify issues that were grouped under key themes. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 21 stakeholders and analysed using the key themes. Results: Implementation of all elements of the intervention was not achieved. Key themes identified that describe the issues affecting the IHWs' capacity to implement the model were: service management, training, client engagement, clarification of IHW role and infrastructure. Conclusions: Placing skilled and dedicated IHWs to improve care coordination is insufficient to improve chronic disease outcomes. A supportive and systematic service delivery system is also required. Implications: The PHC model in remote Indigenous communities needs to be re-oriented to actively support the unique contributions of IHWs to chronic care coordination.
History
Publication Date
2016-01-01Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public HealthVolume
40Issue
Suppl. 1Pagination
8p. (p. S107-S114)Publisher
Wiley-BlackwellISSN
1326-0200Rights Statement
The Author reserves all moral rights over the deposited text and must be credited if any re-use occurs. Documents deposited in OPAL are the Open Access versions of outputs published elsewhere. Changes resulting from the publishing process may therefore not be reflected in this document. The final published version may be obtained via the publisher’s DOI. Please note that additional copyright and access restrictions may apply to the published version.Publisher DOI
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No categories selectedKeywords
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePublic, Environmental & Occupational Healthchronic care coordinationIndigenous Health Workersdiabetesprimary health careCHRONIC ILLNESS CAREDIABETES CARECHRONIC DISEASEQUALITY IMPROVEMENTTRIALHumansLong-Term CareProgram EvaluationOceanic Ancestry GroupHealth Services, IndigenousRural Health ServicesPrimary Health CareAustraliaQueenslandRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicCommunity Health WorkersWorkforcePublic Health