A joint project to evaluate the Central Coast Integrated Care Program in New South Wales, is coming to an end, with papers in preparation and a final report near completion.
Researchers from the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health and the IFIC Faculty were awarded a competitive tender to undertake the formative evaluation last year. The team worked throughout 2017 in close consultation with the program’s team to build a case study, gather a wide range of perspectives on progress thus far, and map these against the Project Integrate dimensions of integrated care.
Hazel Dalton, Research Leader at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia, said: “The Program is part of a ten-year vision for integrating care on the Central Coast and has incorporated a population health approach, with a focus on three population groups: vulnerable youth, vulnerable older persons and people with chronic and complex conditions. Furthermore, a suite of enabler projects was employed to lay the foundations to better support integrated care activities on the Central Coast. The program has enabled the testing and implementation of a number of novel approaches to care delivery within the local health care context.”
Michael Bishop, Acting Executive Manager for the Central Coast Integrated Care Program, said: “We’ve really valued the engagement with IFIC for the formative evaluation of our integrated care program. As global leaders in integrated care, IFIC have been able to provide a high level of insight from an international perspective and apply if at a local level. The evaluation team has been able to project manage its deliverables to a high standard and effectively relate to all levels of our organisation.”