UK policy documents advocate integrated approaches to sexual health service provision to ensure that everyone can access high-quality treatment. Family planning and genitourinary medicine services have been fully integrated. The researchers conducted this research to study the views of staff on integrated sexual and reproductive care.
Staff completed anonymous questionnaires before and after integration, keeping in view four main aspects: the patient pathway, specific patient groups, their professional status, and their working environment. The surveys used a mixture of 5-point Likert-type scales and questions.
Over half of the staff completed the surveys on each occasion. A half-year after the new building opened, staff attitudes about the integrated service were mixed. The team reported more stress and less opportunity for the specialization, but there was no change in their sense of professional status or development.
The study concluded that staff views should form an essential part of service redesign and integration projects. Although the results suggest a perceived worsening of some aspects of the service, further evaluation is needed to unpick the different problems that have appeared under the catch-all term of ‘integration’.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/40/4/254
