Experiences of families using an early example of neighbourhood multidisciplinary care for children and young people: A qualitative exploration using a theoretical framework of acceptability

Background

In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service is attempting to address the ongoing challenges to heath equity in underserved children and young people (CYP) by creating Neighbourhood Multi-Disciplinary Teams (NMDTs) that combine health services, social care providers, local authorities, voluntary, community and faith and social enterprise is needed. Despite this significant shift in the delivery of care, there is a lack of suitably robust evidence of family experience to inform their development. This work contributes to this need using the experience and perspectives of families using an early example of an NMDT for CYP; the “Sparkbrook Children’s Zone” in Birmingham (UK).

Methods

The study used data collected from two focus groups conducted with parents whose children had been treated by the Sparkbrook Children’s Zone. The data were analysed using a directed content analysis to populate Sekhon’s Theoretical Framework of Acceptability.

Results

In summary (by Framework domain) we found that that individuals became aware of the SCZ through a range of sources, understanding that it was multidisciplinary if sometimes unsure of precisely the organisations involved ( Intervention coherence ); Parents described the benefits to access of a locally situated collocated service ( Burden ) the personalised relationship with providers ( Cultural sensitivity ), extended consultation time, and support for the family’s complex clinical and social needs ( Perceived effectiveness ).

Conclusions

Parents appeared to prefer the SCZ over usual primary care but more work is needed with larger sample sizes to ensure that the structure of NMDTs are understood and optimised.

Key messages

• In the United Kingdom the rapid implementation of multidisciplinary primary care for children and young people has begun despite a lack of robust evidence

• This study provides valuable insight into the experiences and preferences of families using an early example of a neighbourhood multidisciplinary care team in a socio-economically challenged ward in Birmingham.

• The collocated combination of clinical and social support was welcomed as was the personalised nature of the clinical care and the value of the practical support and advocacy to address families’ complex social needs.

Patient or public contribution

A patient and public involvement panel was created when the Sparkbrook Children’s Zone was first developed, and they continued to offer advice on the evaluation of the service. They were involved in the decision to collect data via focus groups and supported the development of the focus group topic guides, and the language used in the recruitment materials. The early results were fed back to the PPI panel and they are supporting the dissemination of the evaluation findings through their affiliation with local community and faith groups.