ISSN: 2161-0711

Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
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  • Research Article   
  • J Community Med Health Educ 7:572,
  • DOI: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000572

Building Workforce for Chronic Disease and Complex Conditions: A Qualitative Investigation of Care Coordinators' Role Perceptions

Heslop L1* and Cranwell K2
1Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Australia
2Occupational Therapist, Western Health, , Australia
*Corresponding Author : Heslop L, Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne VIC-8001, Australia, Tel: +61 3 8395 8142, Email: Liza.Heslop@vu.edu.au

Received Date: Dec 05, 2017 / Accepted Date: Dec 07, 2017 / Published Date: Dec 11, 2017

Abstract

Background: Within interdisciplinary fields of healthcare that focus on chronic disease and complex condition management across an integrated continuum of services, there is growing emphasis on workforce reform strategies to update and expand clinical roles. In particular, different configurations of clinician teams have emerged to support older adults and others with complex health and social needs. This qualitative study sought perspectives from an emergent care coordination workforce that provide such support. The purpose of the study was to capture the views and experiences from this workforce as a means to understand the characteristics of their role; and the values care coordinators perceived to be placed on the role by external clinical colleagues.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was supported by purposive sampling of 57 care coordinators located at a metropolitan Local Health Network in Victoria, Australia. Data was obtained from several focus groups in the form of detailed notes and verbatim quotes then analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Care coordinators’ held values about their role that were conceptually related to three key characteristics: 1) The whole person approach: making a difference to people’s lives; 2) Autonomy; and 3) Practice wisdom. With regard to their viewpoints about how external colleagues perceived the role, content themes of ‘picking up all loose ends’ and ‘waving the magic wand’ emerged.

Conclusion: These qualitative findings suggest that care coordinators bring a unique and somewhat sharedpractice perspective that could significantly build the interface between acute episode-based and chronic care. The findings are of interest to healthcare organizations investing in holistic workforce capability to support chronic disease and complex condition management within integrated service delivery models.

Keywords: Chronic illness; Continuity of care; Interprofessional care; Policy; Qualitative research workforce

Citation: Heslop L, Cranwell K (2017) Building Workforce for Chronic Disease and Complex Conditions: A Qualitative Investigation of Care Coordinators' Role Perceptions. J Community Med Health Educ 7: 572. Doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000572

Copyright: ©2017 Heslop L, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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