We’re getting the picture — surveys now underway in Northumberland

The Change Foundation is taking a snapshot of how adults with long-term health conditions and family and friend caregivers are experiencing healthcare transitions in Northumberland. What happened when they had to move within an organization or from one service to another, or between or among different places and providers? Healthcare professionals and service providers are another part of the picture, so we will be capturing their experiences working with patients and caregivers as they move through the healthcare system.

For a month, starting October 11th, caregivers and healthcare providers in Northumberland will be asked to share their experiences either online or on the telephone. The Foundation has worked closely with Ipsos Reid to develop online surveys for the provider community and telephone surveys for patients and caregivers. The patient/caregiver survey is screening for people who have one or more long-term health conditions or caregivers of an adult with one or more long-term conditions. And we want to hear from the full range of healthcare professionals and providers — physicians, nurses, other regulated professionals, care coordinators, personal support workers, etc. — from a wide range of sectors and services. For Northumberland-area providers interested in participating in this survey, please visit:

www.ipsosresearch.com/NorthumberlandServiceProviderSurvey

The surveys will be in the field until early-November; results will be analyzed and included in a report that will be available early in 2013. The insights from this input, along with our analysis, will be provided to the Northumberland PATH project to help enrich their understanding of how patients with long-term health conditions and caregivers in the region are experiencing transitions within health and social care organizations, and between and among services, settings and providers. On the provider side, the survey responses will also feed into the care redesign work that will be undertaken in 2013-2014. This snapshot will be taken again – in 2014 – after the PATH patient-provider co-design wraps up.

This research and policy work aligns with, and augments, the Foundation’s other efforts – including community engagement (more on that this week!) to help us reach our strategic goal of improving people’s experiences as they move through and across the whole of Ontario’s healthcare system.