Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

This study investigates the effectiveness of partnerships in the area of primary health care. Partnerships exist in many contexts and have different characteristics. There are many advantages to working in a partnership. This way of working together is used in many areas and is generally considered a good way to perform complex tasks, solve problems and implement large-scale change. In health care, partnerships have become an increasingly popular strategy for delivering better care to patients and for improving the quality and effectiveness of health care systems. However, partnerships have a high failure rate, being unable to achieve the intended outcomes. More research is needed into how partnerships work. This project is studying how several partnerships, in the area of health care, develop and operate. The partnerships are part of an international research program that is looking at ways to improve access to primary health care for vulnerable populations in three Canadian provinces and three Australian states. Each partnership involves doctors, patients, community members, policy makers and researchers. The current project is investigating what helps and/or hinders the work of these teams, paying particular attention to the application of intentional processes and approaches to enhance partnership effectiveness. The outcomes of this initiative will contribute to the literature on the structures and processes required to build successful partnerships in primary health care.