Overview:
Evaluations comprising experiences of patients and service providers enable interventions to be translated into standard practice in healthcare and enable formal networks to work in partnership with informal community networks.
Aim:
To explore experiences of patients and carers receiving support and referring healthcare providers regarding the Compassionate Communities Connectors program in Western Australia.
Approach:
Semi-structured interviews with 28 patients/families and 12 healthcare providers elicited 47 interviews. Inductive content analysis was used.
Findings:
Families experienced great support and enablement from Connectors. Healthcare providers were impressed with their resourcefulness and perceived a benefit for those socially isolated. Three themes were identified by patients’/families: Connector as advocate; Increasing social connectedness; Taking pressure off families. Three themes were identified by healthcare providers: Reducing social isolation; Filling gaps in service provision; Building capacity of services.
Conclusions:
Patients’, families’ and healthcare providers’ perspectives identified the Connectors’ mediating role. Connection shifted towards each group’s understanding and practise of care, giving agency to families and reminding healthcare providers that collaborating beyond the boundaries of their roles enhances the whole ecology of care. A Compassionate Communities approach to mobilise health and community sectors can develop a more holistic approach to address social, practical and emotional domains of care.