National Envelope- Tools for Transition - Federal/Provincial/Territorial Component Initiatives

Building Capacity in Primary Health Care: Disseminating
Best Practices in Interdisciplinary Teamwork from
Community Health Centres

$299,374

The Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations (CACHCA) was established in 1995 to provide support to Canada's provincially-based community health centre organizations (CHCs) and to represent the interests of those organizations at a national level. The main objective of CACHCA is to work for improved health services for individuals and their families in communities across Canada by promoting CHCs as a cost-effective and successful method for delivering primary health care.

Partners:

The Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC); University of Western Ontario; Sunnybrook and Women's College of Health Services Centre; and, University of Toronto.

Objectives:

The objectives of this initiative are to strengthen CHCs and other primary health care (PHC) organizations working with interdisciplinary teams of health professionals, and to assist individual health professionals to increase their knowledge and develop their skills in the area of effective interdisciplinary work. This initiative will support change management in primary health care renewal by tapping into and disseminating lessons learned from the vast body of CHC experience.

Activities:

The activities the organization will undertake to meet the objectives are the development and implementation of an applied dissemination strategy to complement an initiative being undertaken by the AOHC in Ontario. This will include a comprehensive plain-language literature review that outlines best practices for working in interdisciplinary PHC teams and a 2-day workshop and supporting educational resources for front-line care providers that focusses on building the skills and capacities needed to work effectively in interdisciplinary PHC teams. A team of trainers will offer workshops to local interdisciplinary groups of PHC providers at a number of locations across Canada. CACHCA will also work with a team of Francophones to adapt and translate materials for Francophone audiences.

Expected Results:

The expected results of the initiative include best practice guidelines for effective functioning of interdisciplinary teams in CHCs; standardized tools for evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of interdisciplinary teams in CHCs; and educational tools for providers which support the development of skills needed to work effectively in interdisciplinary primary health care teams.

Contact:

Ken Hoffman
Community Health Consultant
c/o Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations
254 Iona Street, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7B7
Tel: (613) 729-0308
Fax: (613) 729-0920
Email: khoffman@web.ca