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BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

A catalyst for system change: a case study of child health network formation, evolution and sustainability in Canada

Authors: Charmaine McPherson, Jenny Ploeg, Nancy Edwards, Donna Ciliska, Wendy Sword

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

The purpose of this study was to examine key processes and supportive and inhibiting factors involved in the development, evolution, and sustainability of a child health network in rural Canada. This study contributes to a relatively new research agenda aimed at understanding inter-organizational and cross-sectoral health networks. These networks encourage collaboration focusing on complex issues impacting health – issues that individual agencies cannot effectively address alone. This paper presents an overview of the study findings.

Methods

An explanatory qualitative case study approach examined the Network's 13-year lifespan. Data sources were documents and Network members, including regional and 71 provincial senior managers from 11 child and youth service sectors. Data were collected through 34 individual interviews and a review of 127 documents. Interview data were analyzed using framework analysis methods; Prior's approach guided document analysis.

Results

Three themes related to network development, evolution and sustainability were identified: (a) Network relationships as system triggers, (b) Network-mediated system responsiveness, and (c) Network practice as political.

Conclusions

Study findings have important implications for network organizational development, collaborative practice, interprofessional education, public policy, and public system responsiveness research. Findings suggest it is important to explicitly focus on relationships and multi-level socio-political contexts, such as supportive policy environments, in understanding health networks. The dynamic interplay among the Network members; central supportive and inhibiting factors; and micro-, meso-, and macro-organizational contexts was identified.
Footnotes
1
This expression was used by the former Prime Minister of Canada, The Rt. Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau: “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt” [117]. In the context of the child health network study, although there may be friendly relationships with this group, the size of the group (or their large funding contribution) has an impact on network activities or relationships.
 
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Metadata
Title
A catalyst for system change: a case study of child health network formation, evolution and sustainability in Canada
Authors
Charmaine McPherson
Jenny Ploeg
Nancy Edwards
Donna Ciliska
Wendy Sword
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2018-5

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