A New Zealand osteopathic perspective on the choice of working in an integrated care environment alongside other regulated health care providers: A qualitative descriptive study

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Authors

Cox, Victoria

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Degree

Master of Osteopathy

Grantor

Unitec Institute of Technology

Date

2022

Supervisors

Aminian, Saeideh
Friedlander, Tim

Type

Masters Thesis

Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)

Keyword

New Zealand
inter-professional collaboration
integrated health care
integrative medicine
osteopaths
perspectives
osteopathic medicine

Citation

Cox, V. (2022) A New Zealand osteopathic perspective on the choice of working in an integrated care environment alongside other regulated health care providers: A qualitative descriptive study (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Osteopathy). Unitec Institute of Technology https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6073

Abstract

INTRODUCTION In the last decade, an urgency to move away from fragmented care into an integrated model of health care delivery has been meaningly pushed. Policymakers worldwide have been developing policies that promote care collaboration to address contemporary health issues. Nonetheless, in New Zealand, limited research is available highlighting the inclusion of osteopaths working in an integrated care environment. Current osteopathic research positions osteopaths alongside other health professionals within diverse health practice environments. Aims: To identify why osteopaths in New Zealand may have chosen to work in an integrated care environment and whether their experience was positive or negative. METHODS A descriptive qualitative study of seven registered osteopaths who have previously or currently worked in an integrated care environment was conducted. Osteopaths were interviewed using semi-structured indicative questions. Recordings were transcribed, and transcriptions were thematically analysed. RESULTS The three principal themes of ‘knowledge’, ‘operational management’, and ‘individual traits and skills’ were found to significantly influence the experience of an osteopath who chose to continue working in an integrated care environment. Each theme included two or three subthemes. ‘Knowledge’ included education and preparation. Management, time, and cost were the subthemes of ‘operational management’, and ‘individual traits and skills’ included communication, collaboration, and personality. No osteopaths in this study stated making a specific choice to work in an integrated care environment. CONCLUSION Although the osteopaths in this study did not choose to entre an integrated care environment to work alongside alternative registered health care professionals, a positive view was held by those osteopaths who continued to work in this environment. However, many inconsistencies in this model of care delivery exist, resulting in several key barriers. This study highlighted the necessity for future research to address multidisciplinary education and operational management within an integrated health care environment.

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