TY - JOUR
AU - J. Soraghan
AU - A. McTier
AU - M. Anderson
AU - C. A. Anderson
AU - E. Young
AU - A. Bowman
AU - H. Ottaway
A1 - 
AB - INTRODUCTION: The integration of services is often driven by the belief that integration will lead to better outcomes for service users. However, there is a paucity of robust evidence exploring the relationship between integration and outcomes. This study sought to determine whether the integration of health and social care services via Health and Social Care Partnerships has led to a measurable change in outcomes for Scotland's children and young people. METHODS: Multilevel models were applied to routinely collected administrative data to determine whether different approaches to structural integration were related to changes in a range of outcomes for children and young people. The modelling approach accounted for confounding factors such as economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: The analysis found no consistent evidence of an association between the structural integration of services and changes in outcomes for children and young people. However, external factors such as deprivation and the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be linked to changes in outcomes across various areas of children's lives. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the complexity in attributing changes in outcomes to a specific intervention or reform, particularly in the presence of wider socio-economic factors. Understanding the influence of systems-level change may not be fully possible using routinely collected data alone, and any methods used to assess impact should be underpinned by an underlying theory of change.
AD - CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection), University of Strathclyde, UK.; School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow, UK.
AN - 41323493
BT - Int J Integr Care
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 4
DA - Oct-Dec
DO - 10.5334/ijic.9145
DP - NLM
ET - 20251126
IS - 4
JF - Int J Integr Care
LA - eng
N2 - INTRODUCTION: The integration of services is often driven by the belief that integration will lead to better outcomes for service users. However, there is a paucity of robust evidence exploring the relationship between integration and outcomes. This study sought to determine whether the integration of health and social care services via Health and Social Care Partnerships has led to a measurable change in outcomes for Scotland's children and young people. METHODS: Multilevel models were applied to routinely collected administrative data to determine whether different approaches to structural integration were related to changes in a range of outcomes for children and young people. The modelling approach accounted for confounding factors such as economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: The analysis found no consistent evidence of an association between the structural integration of services and changes in outcomes for children and young people. However, external factors such as deprivation and the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be linked to changes in outcomes across various areas of children's lives. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the complexity in attributing changes in outcomes to a specific intervention or reform, particularly in the presence of wider socio-economic factors. Understanding the influence of systems-level change may not be fully possible using routinely collected data alone, and any methods used to assess impact should be underpinned by an underlying theory of change.
PY - 2025
SN - 1568-4156 (Print)
SP - 17
ST - The Impact of Health and Social Care Integration on Children and Young People's Outcomes: What Can Be Determined from Scotland's Administrative Data?
T1 - The Impact of Health and Social Care Integration on Children and Young People's Outcomes: What Can Be Determined from Scotland's Administrative Data?
T2 - Int J Integr Care
TI - The Impact of Health and Social Care Integration on Children and Young People's Outcomes: What Can Be Determined from Scotland's Administrative Data?
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.5334/ijic.9145
VL - 25
VO - 1568-4156 (Print)
Y1 - 2025
ER -