The Tavistock Institute has been commissioned by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) to develop and assess an Armed Forces Community Healthcare Navigation pilot in South Birmingham.

The lead partner in the project are Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who are working alongside the Tavistock Institute and the Defence Medical Welfare Service.

We are responsible for running a feasibility study assessing the potential for further roll out of the delivery model on a larger scale. This feasibility study seeks to validate our hypothesis that a multi-functional healthcare Navigator for the Armed Forces Community (AFC) will:

• Improve the engagement of Primary Care and the Armed Forces Community
• Enable improved access to health, social and third sector support
• Provide robust evidence of the needs of this community
• Provide robust evidence of the gaps in availability and accessibility of services
• Provide evidence to support continuation of the role and incorporation into future local policy transformation and the development and commissioning of services

To test the feasibility of this model we are evaluating the two work streams:

• Training and education of the Primary Care Workforce
• Delivering a AFC Health & Wellbeing Navigator service

Feasibility study data and outcomes will provide foundations for the strategic transformation of services by inclusion within health needs assessment, Armed Forces Community needs assessment, and informing future service developments and commissioning decisions. The pilot began in July 2017 and will run for one year.

Context

Our project adapts a validated healthcare model of support called healthcare navigation. Healthcare navigation is a cost effective means of improving health and social care outcomes for vulnerable adults. Care Navigation is part of a growing trend to connect patients who are lost in the care system with helpful services.The Armed Forces Community have priority treatment in the NHS but many veterans do not tell their GP surgery about their status and GPs have little knowledge or training on what support the Community requires. Many veterans face emotional and physical difficulties when leaving the armed forces and often struggle to ask for help. This programme aims to bridge the health service gap by offering non-judgemental guidance for the Armed Forces Community and to primary healthcare services to improve the health and wellbeing of those who have served.

Objectives

The feasibility study aims to: 

• Assess the feasibility of the service delivery design in relation to the proposed outcomes
• Identify potential improvements to the design of the pilot project
• Implement improvements to the delivery model to better fit the local system and achieve improved outcomes

Methodology

The research combines four methods: 

• Document review
• Survey analysis interviews
• Focus groups

First, the evaluation team will collect documentary evidence from the local area to assess the services provided and the local armed forces community.Second, each person navigated fills in survey containing validated scales pre- and post-surveys their navigation which the Tavistock Institute team will analyse.Third, qualitative data will be collected with key project staff including the navigator, as well as focus groups with members of the armed forces community.The data will be synthesised and analysed using resource-mapping and assessment of the delivery. As a feasibility study, the project will end with a workshop assessing the pros and cons of different delivery options using a co-produced benefits criteria. Following feedback workshop, the project team will integrate the outcomes with the evaluation of the pilot project, to provide an executive summary and presentation.

Results

Download Report: The Armed Forces Community Healthcare navigation Project Feasibility Study

Project Team:

Camilla Child David Drabble Richard Allen