Emotional Dimensions in Integrated Care for People with Multiple Complex Problems

Anneli Hujala,Erja Oksman

doi:10.3390/admsci8040059

Abstract

Cross-boundary collaboration, both multiprofessional and interorganizational, is needed when providing integrated care for people with multiple problems, who need services at the same time from diverse care providers. Multiple problems of clients also pose extra challenges for interaction between care professionals and clients. Emotional dynamics are always present in everyday interaction between human beings, but seldom explicitly addressed in research on integrated care. The aim of this reflective paper is to illustrate the emotional dimensions of integrated care in light of the experiences of care professionals in the context of care for people with multiple complex problems. The paper draws on a Finnish study on integrated care reflecting its findings from the perspective of emotional labor. The difficult life situations of people with multiple complex problems form an emotional burden, which is mirrored in the interaction between clients and professionals and affects relational dynamics among professionals. Professionals’ fear of emotions and the different ‘feeling rules’ of care professions and sectors pose extra challenges to professionals’ collaboration in this emotionally loaded context. Alongside the structural and functional aspects of integrated care, it is important that emotions embedded in everyday cross-boundary collaboration are recognized and taken into account in order to ensure the success of integrated care.

Highlights

Integrated care is a concept used extensively to refer to advanced collaboration in the context of health and social care
Alongside the structural and functional aspects of integrated care, it is important that emotions embedded in everyday cross-boundary collaboration are recognized and taken into account in order to ensure the success of integrated care
The findings of the study showed that the emotional burden of multiple complex health and social problems affects clients, and the care professionals who deal with these people in their work

Summary

Introduction

Integrated care is a concept used extensively to refer to advanced collaboration in the context of health and social care. Integrated care is expected to be of particular benefit for people with multiple complex health and social care problems who need services from several care providers in both health and social care (Goodwin 2015; Rijken et al 2017) These people, from a collaboration perspective called ‘shared clients’ (Oksman 2017), consist of somewhat different groups, such as those with multimorbidity, older persons regularly needing acute health services for several reasons, families with children who have special problems, drug users, young people or adults who suffer from mental problems.

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