The Role of Care Coordinator for Children with Complex Care Needs: A Systematic Review.

Des Cawley,Philip Larkin ,Maria Brenner,Rowan Hillis,Michael Connolly

doi:10.5334/ijic.2250

Abstract

Introduction:This systematic review seeks to identify the intended components of the role of care coordinator for children with complex care needs and the factors that determine its composition in practice.Theory and methods:The initial search identified 1,157 articles, of which 37 met the inclusion criteria. They were quality assessed using the SIGN hierarchy of evidence structure.Results:Core components of the role include: coordination of care needs, planning and assessment, specialist support, emotional support, administration and logistics and continuing professional development. Influencing factors on the role include the external environment (political and socio-economic), the internal environment (organisational structure and funding protocols), the skills, qualifications and experience of the coordinator, the family circumstances and the nature of the interaction between the care coordinator and the family.Discussion:The lack of consistent terminology creates challenges and there is a need for greater consensus on this issue. Organisations and healthcare professionals need to recognise the extent to which contextual factors influence the role of a care coordinator in practice and plan accordingly. Despite evidence that suggests that the role is pivotal in ensuring that care needs are sustained, there remains great variability in the understanding of the role of a care coordinator for this population.Conclusions:As the provision of care increasingly moves closer to home there is a need for greater understanding of the nature and composition of the interaction between care coordinators and families to determine the extent to which appropriate services are being provided. Further work in this area should take into consideration any potential variance in service provision, for example any potential inequity arising due to geographic location. It is also imperative, where appropriate, to seek the views of children with complex care needs and their siblings about their experiences.

Highlights

This systematic review seeks to identify the intended components of the role of care coordinator for children with complex care needs and the factors that determine its composition in practice
Progress towards achievement of this goal has been slow [3] despite growing evidence that homecare: provides a means of mitigating the barriers and isolation children and their families experience during the transition from hospital to home, can significantly reduce hospital utilisation, and reduces the cost of care for children with complex care needs [5,6,7,8,9]
The main theme that emerged from the literature is that the composition of the role of the care coordinator depends upon an infinite number of contextual variables

Summary

Introduction

This systematic review seeks to identify the intended components of the role of care coordinator for children with complex care needs and the factors that determine its composition in practice. Conclusions: As the provision of care increasingly moves closer to home there is a need for greater understanding of the nature and composition of the interaction between care coordinators and families to determine the extent to which appropriate services are being provided. Further work in this area should take into consideration any potential variance in service provision, for example any potential inequity arising due to geographic location. While the intended role of case managers has been discussed, evaluated and analysed internationally [1, 12,13,14], using interchangeable titles such as Family Care Coordinator, Care Coordination Counselor, Nurse Care Coordinator, and Key Worker [15,16,17,18,19,20,21], there is no consensus within the literature internationally on the key constituents of this service in practice

Results

Discussion

Conclusion