Service integration
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Service integration, transitioning modes of service delivery and the changing role of professionals.
IRAS ID
185271
Contact name
Angela Aristidou
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
PL 129, Registration of R&D Interest, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; SBS CA1 15-001, Ethics Approval by the University of Oxford CUREC (SBS); 11526, University of Oxford Sponsorship
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
A fundamental challenge for the world’s numerous service organizations (such as healthcare organizations) is to offer integrated, holistic or ‘wrap-around’ service to their clients. For this reason, service organizations increasingly integrate aspects of their service provision with other service organizations – in the same sector (public, private, voluntary) or not, either physically (through co-location) or virtually (through online platforms). These ‘service integrations’ are likely to bring about a transition in the way that service is delivered to the clients, customers, patients or students (i.e. the existing "mode" of service delivery) and thus, a new world of work for the professionals working in the service organization.
In the organizational literature, ‘service integration’ has received scholarly attention from a range of theoretical viewpoints and methodological perspectives. However, the questions still remain: how is ‘service integration’ performed in practice over time, and what is its effect, first, on the way the service is delivered, second, on the work role of the employees involved from the service organization and, third, on the organizational processes? These are the main questions of our research study.
We explore these questions through our qualitative study. We examine a “service integration” initiative in the context of the Children and Young People’s Services provided by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. In this context, the Children and Young People’s Services are planning to “integrate” part of their service provision with voluntary services. Our study involves interviews with NHS employees of the Children and Young People’s Services provided by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our study also involves observing how the work of these employees changes over time because of this “service integration”. Finally, we will conduct interviews with other NHS employees in management/leadership roles within the same Trust. It is funded by the NIHR CLAHRC Oxford.REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A