For several years, the Community Care Access
Centre of London and Middlesex (CCACLM) has
been working with University of Western Ontario
researcher Carol McWilliam on the development
and implementation of a new approach to service
delivery, “flexible client-driven care.” Now the
project is broadening, building new links between
researchers and care providers across the South
West.
Flexible client-driven care is an approach that
builds on the strengths of clients and caregivers,
engaging them in a partnership with professional
care providers and inviting them to contribute their
knowledge, abilities and decision-making skills.
Research shows that this empowering partnering
approach improves client independence,
involvement, health and quality of life, and at the
same time, decreases hospitalization and the
need for home care services. It is also linked to
better job satisfaction and motivation for care
providers. Over the past 16 years, McWilliam and
her fellow researchers at the University of Western
Ontario have conducted a number of studies in
collaboration with several CCACs in the South
West.
The next stage of this research, a “knowledge-
to-action” project, is currently under way. In Phase
One of the project, five teams of case managers
and providers from Elgin, Oxford and Middlesex
counties met with researchers from the University
of Ontario to combine their practical, hands-on
knowledge of community care with the findings of
research studies. The groups reviewed research
evidence, considered the barriers and facilitators
to integrating this knowledge into their everyday
work, explored opportunities and challenges for
action, and developed action plans. Each group
implemented its plan during the summer and will
make recommendations to administrators and
researchers this fall.
In Phase Two of the project, proposed for
March 2007 to March 2008, the same approach to
promoting evidence-based practice may be used
across the region to achieve broader
organizational support for participants’ efforts. If
funding is available for Phase 2, it will provide an
opportunity to refine the strategies that Phase 1
participants created. “We want to give providers a
chance to work with decision-makers and policy
makers to create ways that enable them to
implement the findings from the previous research
they’ve been involved in,” explains Dr.
McWilliam. “Providers have experience and ideas
about how they can make this happen. They
simply need more time and an opportunity to
build empowering partnerships across their
organization to make flexible client-driven service
delivery a reality.”
“We’re delighted to be part of this innovative
project,” says Sandra Coleman, Executive Director
of CCAC London-Middlesex. “We have learned so
much from our interaction with Dr. McWilliam over
many years, and now we have an opportunity to
share our learning and ultimately, improve care
throughout the region.”