Reconciling practice, research and reality of integrated care. Critical reflections on the state of a discipline
ISSN: 1476-9018
Article publication date: 22 July 2020
Issue publication date: 22 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the practice, rhetoric and reality of integrating care. Echoing Le Grand's framework of motivation, agency and policy, it is argued that the stories the authors tell themselves why the authors embark on integration programmes differ from the reasons why managers commit to these programmes. This split between policy rhetoric and reality has implications for the way the authors investigate integration.
Design/methodology/approach
Examining current integration policy, practice and research, the paper adopts the critical framework articulated by Le Grand about the underlying assumptions of health care policy and practice.
Findings
It is argued that patient perspectives are speciously placed at the centre of integration policy but mask the existing organizational and managerial rationalities of integration. Making the patient the measure of all things integration would turn this agenda back on its feet.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the underlying assumptions of integration policy, practice and research. Increasing the awareness about the gap between what the authors do, why the authors do it and the stories the authors tell themselves about it injects a much needed amount of criticality into research and practice.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
An earlier version of this paper was delivered as a keynote speech at the 40th Anniversary celebrations of the Department of Health and Social Management at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio in October 2019. The author is grateful to Prof Johanna Lammintakanen and her amazing colleagues at Kuopio for providing the author with a much needed visiting fellowship in Autumn 2019 to develop this paper.
Citation
Kaehne, A. (2020), "Reconciling practice, research and reality of integrated care. Critical reflections on the state of a discipline", Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 311-318. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-07-2020-078
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited