Training a system-literate care coordination workforce

TY - JOUR

T1 - Training a system-literate care coordination workforce

AU - Naccarella, Lucio

AU - Osborne, Richard H.

AU - Brooks, Peter M.

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - People with chronic complex conditions continue to experience increasing health system fragmentation and poor coordination. To reverse these trends, one solution has been an investment in effective models of care coordination that use a care coordinator workforce. Care coordinators are not a homogenous workforce - but an applied professional role, providing direct and indirect care, and is often undertaken by nurses, allied health professionals, social workers or general practitioners. In Australia, there is no training curriculum nor courses, nor nationally recognised professional quality standards for the care coordinator workforce. With the growing complexity and fragmentation of the health care system, health system literacy - shared understanding of the roles and contributions of the different workforce professions, organisations and systems, among patients and indeed the health workforce is required. Efforts to improve health system literacy among the health workforce are increasing at a policy, practice and research level. However, insufficient evidence exists about what are the health system literacy needs of care coordinators, and what is required for them to be most effective. Key areas to build a health system literate care coordination workforce are presented. Care coordination is more than an optional extra, but one of the only ways we are going to be able to provide equitable health services for people with chronic complex conditions. People with low health literacy require more support with the coordination of their care, therefore we need to build a high performing care coordinator workforce that upholds professional quality standards, and is health literacy responsive.

AB - People with chronic complex conditions continue to experience increasing health system fragmentation and poor coordination. To reverse these trends, one solution has been an investment in effective models of care coordination that use a care coordinator workforce. Care coordinators are not a homogenous workforce - but an applied professional role, providing direct and indirect care, and is often undertaken by nurses, allied health professionals, social workers or general practitioners. In Australia, there is no training curriculum nor courses, nor nationally recognised professional quality standards for the care coordinator workforce. With the growing complexity and fragmentation of the health care system, health system literacy - shared understanding of the roles and contributions of the different workforce professions, organisations and systems, among patients and indeed the health workforce is required. Efforts to improve health system literacy among the health workforce are increasing at a policy, practice and research level. However, insufficient evidence exists about what are the health system literacy needs of care coordinators, and what is required for them to be most effective. Key areas to build a health system literate care coordination workforce are presented. Care coordination is more than an optional extra, but one of the only ways we are going to be able to provide equitable health services for people with chronic complex conditions. People with low health literacy require more support with the coordination of their care, therefore we need to build a high performing care coordinator workforce that upholds professional quality standards, and is health literacy responsive.

KW - health literacy

KW - health systems

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84964408682&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1071/AH15014

DO - 10.1071/AH15014

M3 - Review

C2 - 26210890

AN - SCOPUS:84964408682

SN - 0156-5788

VL - 40

SP - 210

EP - 212

JO - Australian Health Review

JF - Australian Health Review

IS - 2

M1 - AH15014

ER -