TY - JOUR
AU - M. G. U. Guajardo
AU - F. C. Mukumbang
AU - M. Dronavalli
AU - S. Woolfenden
AU - L. Parcsi
AU - B. McDougall
AU - J. Gillespie
AU - I. Katz
AU - A. Page
AU - V. Giannopoulos
AU - J. Eastwood
AU - M. Cunich
AU - C. H. Schneider
A1 - 
AB - The fragmented nature of Australian health and social care systems present a barrier to integrated care. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are recognised as a priority population with unmet health and social needs. This study describes policy supports for programs that promote health and social care integration with a CALD focus, including governance and partnerships; workforce and staffing; funding and payment; and data sharing and use. The research question was 'what innovative policy supports to integrate health and social programs?'. Qualitative interviews of participants involved in the implementation of health and social care programs in the Sydney using the Innovative Policy Supports For Integrated Health And Social Care Programs Framework, were conducted. Twenty-seven participants from 24 health and social programs based in Sydney participated in the study. Six programs serviced CALD communities only. Ten had majority of CALD clients, with the remaining having a mixture of clients. Ten programs had a formal coordinator role. Most programs did not report new approaches to data sharing. Two out of the 6 CALD targeted programs reported data-sharing via teleconference in the context of emergency. These were 2 health programs addressing COVID-19 disparities and the humanitarian needs of refugees, respectively. Only 2 reported a special funding to assist vulnerable families and common emergency department presenters, respectively. This study demonstrated the lack of integration of services in health and social care. Policy development and implementation should consider bringing stakeholders together (informed by CALD groups) to advance the generation of technology for adopting universal standards and the integration of funding to better support health and social care for CALD communities in multicultural Australia.
AD - The Leeder Centre for Health Policy, Economics and Data, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. gabriela.uribe@sydney.edu.au.; Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia. gabriela.uribe@sydney.edu.au.; School of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.; Translation Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.; Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.; Community Paediatric Research Group, Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.; South West Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.; The Leeder Centre for Health Policy, Economics and Data, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.; Drug Health Services, Edith Collins Centre, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.; Charles Perkins Centre, Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Boden Initiative, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
AN - 40299170
BT - J Immigr Minor Health
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 4
DA - Aug
DO - 10.1007/s10903-025-01697-8
DP - NLM
ET - 20250429
IS - 4
JF - J Immigr Minor Health
LA - eng
N2 - The fragmented nature of Australian health and social care systems present a barrier to integrated care. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are recognised as a priority population with unmet health and social needs. This study describes policy supports for programs that promote health and social care integration with a CALD focus, including governance and partnerships; workforce and staffing; funding and payment; and data sharing and use. The research question was 'what innovative policy supports to integrate health and social programs?'. Qualitative interviews of participants involved in the implementation of health and social care programs in the Sydney using the Innovative Policy Supports For Integrated Health And Social Care Programs Framework, were conducted. Twenty-seven participants from 24 health and social programs based in Sydney participated in the study. Six programs serviced CALD communities only. Ten had majority of CALD clients, with the remaining having a mixture of clients. Ten programs had a formal coordinator role. Most programs did not report new approaches to data sharing. Two out of the 6 CALD targeted programs reported data-sharing via teleconference in the context of emergency. These were 2 health programs addressing COVID-19 disparities and the humanitarian needs of refugees, respectively. Only 2 reported a special funding to assist vulnerable families and common emergency department presenters, respectively. This study demonstrated the lack of integration of services in health and social care. Policy development and implementation should consider bringing stakeholders together (informed by CALD groups) to advance the generation of technology for adopting universal standards and the integration of funding to better support health and social care for CALD communities in multicultural Australia.
PY - 2025
SN - 1557-1912 (Print); 1557-1912
SP - 550
EP - 558+
ST - Innovative Policy Supports for Integration in Health and Social Care Focused on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Australia: A Qualitative Study
T1 - Innovative Policy Supports for Integration in Health and Social Care Focused on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Australia: A Qualitative Study
T2 - J Immigr Minor Health
TI - Innovative Policy Supports for Integration in Health and Social Care Focused on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations in Australia: A Qualitative Study
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1007/s10903-025-01697-8
VL - 27
VO - 1557-1912 (Print); 1557-1912
Y1 - 2025
ER -