Co-constructing a practitioner-led approach to understanding multi-professional working across health and care: the Development Matrix for Integration

This oral paper seeks to introduce the Development Matrix for Integration (DMI). The DMI is borne out of a new approach to practitioner-led team assessment, which is comprised of three methodological component parts. These three component parts – a Scoping Review, a Group Concept Mapping study, and Collaborative Action Research with practitioners – are presented. In this presentation, we will outline the output from the three component parts – the DMI. The DMI is a practitioner-led co-constructed assessment matrix for completion by a range of professionals engaged in multi-professional working (M-PW) in community health and social care. Through utilisation of this new approach, a robust and valid self-assessment tool has been produced which enables practitioners to identify their strengths and areas of development, and to reflect on change over time. The DMI is designed so that teams and services can determine which of the descriptors in the cells in the matrix best describes their progress to date against different dimensions within eight domains. An overview of the eight domains and 45 indicators of the DMI is provided alongside the five descriptor statements for each indicator. Using the DMI to identify areas for service and/or team and/or individual development is the key purpose of the DMI. Accordingly, there is an underlying logic in the how the statements within the matrix build on one another. The statements are incremental; inherent in moving along from one statement to another is the assumption that forms of practice under the previous statement are implied within the next. However, not every indicator within each domain will be relevant to every setting. Therefore, there is an opportunity to provide context around the statements in the box underneath the matrix. There is also an ‘N/A’ option which can be used if the domain/indicator is determined to be outside of the current remit of the service model, is not required in that locality, or if there is capacity elsewhere in the system that can be drawn upon. The DMI as described in this paper has been developed within the context of multi-professional working in Wales, and so is primary designed for that purpose. However, the approach is applicable in myriad contexts – the methodological components underpinning the DMI could be replicated in any service and policy context to develop a similar integrated framework for any type of setting. Further, the DMI is generalisable across health, social care, and voluntary sector contexts elsewhere within the UK and internationally.