The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Local networks of community and healthcare organisations: a mixed methods study

Local networks of community and healthcare organisations: a mixed methods study
Local networks of community and healthcare organisations: a mixed methods study

Background- Local collaboration of community organisations and healthcare organisations is seen as relevant for the efficiency and efficacy of health and social care because of their potential role in providing social involvement which may reduce the need for the utilisation of formal services. Care organisations connect to each other in different ways, thus comprising an organisational network. This study aimed to describe and explore organisational networks with respect to their activities for people with diabetes mellitus type 2 and potential mechanisms of effective collaboration. Collaboration could include, for example, referring to each other and organising activities together. Potential mechanisms are navigation, negotiation and contagion.

Method - A mixed methods study was conducted in an urban and a rural area in the Netherlands. The participating organisations were mentioned by a sample of diabetes patients in these regions and by organisations’ representatives in a snowballing procedure. Next a quantitative survey and a semi-structured interview were conducted, including 35 representatives of these local organisations. The social network analysis methods was used to map and characterise the organisational networks based on results from the survey. A thematic analysis of interviews was undertaken to identify how three mechanisms (navigation, negotiation and contagion) were used in the collaboration.

Results - Both interviews and network structures showed evidence of navigation-related mechanisms. Organisations referred patients with diabetes to services within their organisation or to relevant services provided by other organisations. Hardly any negotiation or contagion-related mechanisms were identified. If negotiation between organisations was found, it seemed externally enforced. The density, centrality, and reciprocity in the networks seemed low to facilitate contagion of practices. Some organisations reported actions that could have impacted on contagion. Representatives emphasized the need of network collaboration with local or regional community and healthcare organisations.

Conclusion - The study suggests that navigation to resources is a relevant theme in organisational networks, which could be targeted by interventions. More research is needed to explore the relevance of other network-related mechanisms.
1756-0500
1-9
Kemper-Koebrugge, Wendy
c5e55caf-918e-49d5-906c-49291030ff3c
Koetsenruijter, Jan
51d2c2c2-cdb2-4df1-8071-aeb911501773
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Laurant, Miranda
cbb53d53-384d-4482-8359-841fbf8e39a9
Wensing, Michel
8702046c-6c87-404a-81a7-fcfcdebfb9cc
Kemper-Koebrugge, Wendy
c5e55caf-918e-49d5-906c-49291030ff3c
Koetsenruijter, Jan
51d2c2c2-cdb2-4df1-8071-aeb911501773
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Laurant, Miranda
cbb53d53-384d-4482-8359-841fbf8e39a9
Wensing, Michel
8702046c-6c87-404a-81a7-fcfcdebfb9cc

Kemper-Koebrugge, Wendy, Koetsenruijter, Jan, Rogers, Anne, Laurant, Miranda and Wensing, Michel (2016) Local networks of community and healthcare organisations: a mixed methods study. BMC Research Notes, 9 (331), 1-9. (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2135-y).

Record type: Article

Abstract


Background- Local collaboration of community organisations and healthcare organisations is seen as relevant for the efficiency and efficacy of health and social care because of their potential role in providing social involvement which may reduce the need for the utilisation of formal services. Care organisations connect to each other in different ways, thus comprising an organisational network. This study aimed to describe and explore organisational networks with respect to their activities for people with diabetes mellitus type 2 and potential mechanisms of effective collaboration. Collaboration could include, for example, referring to each other and organising activities together. Potential mechanisms are navigation, negotiation and contagion.

Method - A mixed methods study was conducted in an urban and a rural area in the Netherlands. The participating organisations were mentioned by a sample of diabetes patients in these regions and by organisations’ representatives in a snowballing procedure. Next a quantitative survey and a semi-structured interview were conducted, including 35 representatives of these local organisations. The social network analysis methods was used to map and characterise the organisational networks based on results from the survey. A thematic analysis of interviews was undertaken to identify how three mechanisms (navigation, negotiation and contagion) were used in the collaboration.

Results - Both interviews and network structures showed evidence of navigation-related mechanisms. Organisations referred patients with diabetes to services within their organisation or to relevant services provided by other organisations. Hardly any negotiation or contagion-related mechanisms were identified. If negotiation between organisations was found, it seemed externally enforced. The density, centrality, and reciprocity in the networks seemed low to facilitate contagion of practices. Some organisations reported actions that could have impacted on contagion. Representatives emphasized the need of network collaboration with local or regional community and healthcare organisations.

Conclusion - The study suggests that navigation to resources is a relevant theme in organisational networks, which could be targeted by interventions. More research is needed to explore the relevance of other network-related mechanisms.

Text
Local networks of community.pdf - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (1MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 22 June 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 July 2016
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 398098
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/398098
ISSN: 1756-0500
PURE UUID: 76fe17fb-07f8-432e-acce-9c2986f2979b

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Jul 2016 15:40
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 01:29

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Wendy Kemper-Koebrugge
Author: Jan Koetsenruijter
Author: Anne Rogers
Author: Miranda Laurant
Author: Michel Wensing

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×