National Evaluation of the Integrated Care & Support Pioneers Program

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Evaluation of the Integrated Care and Support Pioneers Programme in the Context of New Funding Arrangements for Integrated Care in England

• IRAS ID

  209623

• Contact name

  Nicholas Mays

• Contact email

  nicholas.mays@lshtm.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 11 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Better coordination within and between the NHS, local government and other services should lead to more person-centred, coordinated care and more efficient services, and improve individuals’ experiences and outcomes. The Policy Innovation Research Unit (PIRU), commissioned by the Department of Health, is undertaking a 5 year evaluation of all 25 Integrated Care and Support Pioneers in England. We will examine not only whether the Pioneers result in better coordinated care, provided in a more cost-effective way, but also whether any benefits and savings continue over time. The findings of the evaluation will help local and national partners deliver better integrated care.
  The central component of the evaluation is a number of economic evaluations of specific schemes within the Pioneers that aim at providing cost-effective integrated care. In the first such study, we are undertaking an economic evaluation of community-based, integrated health and social care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). Community-based MDTs involving health and social care professionals are one of the most frequent approaches to service integration implemented in the Pioneers and elsewhere in England. We will compare patients on the community-based MDT caseload in at least three Pioneer sites where two or more MDTs are in place to assess the impact of care provided by different types of MDTs. We will also compare MDT patients with similar patients not receiving MDT care. We will use a range of methods (surveys, interviews, observations, analysis of routine data) to assess: costs; health outcomes, including social care and health-related quality of life; users’ and informal carers’ integrated care experience; and staff experience and job satisfaction. Outcomes and costs will be assessed over a minimum of 18 months.

• REC name

  London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  17/LO/0421

• Date of REC Opinion

  1 Aug 2017

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion