The lived experiences and perspectives of families receiving integrated social care: A CAIMeR-informed inquiry
van Eck,Marcel Ettema,Roelof Cloin,Mariëlle de Jong,Anneke van Genk,Caroline Van Regenmortel,Tine
van Eck,Marcel
Ettema,Roelof
Cloin,Mariëlle
de Jong,Anneke
van Genk,Caroline
Van Regenmortel,Tine
Abstract
Summary Families with multiple and complex problems often interact with numerous professionals, leading to fragmented care. Integrated social care aims to address this, but there is limited knowledge about effective approaches from families’ perspectives. We studied social-neighborhood teams in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Findings From 31 interviews with 19 participants from 11 families, we used inductive analysis to identify five key themes in families’ experiences with integrated social care: “(dis)trust,” “perspective on the future,” “control and overview,” “self-efficacy,” and “participation.” These themes were illustrated by 16 CAIMeR configurations explaining what works, for whom, and why, such as addressing families’ actual needs, ensuring effective coordination, and promoting active professional involvement in multidisciplinary meetings. The CAIMeR approach provided a structured framework examining the interaction of context, actors, interventions, mechanisms, and results across various family situations. For example, in complex scenarios involving diverse youth care professionals (actor), families face risks to children's safe development (context) and often experience frustration and anger due to perceived neglect of their own needs by social workers and specialized youth care workers (intervention), leading to family members feeling unheard and shutting down (mechanism), resulting in anger and frustration (result). Applications When social care focuses mainly on the child, parents tend to feel overlooked and unheard, which harms their relationship with care professionals. Trust between professionals and families is crucial, and effective collaboration among professionals, supported by coordination and active participation in multidisciplinary meetings, contributes to improved outcomes.
Description
Projectcode: 4200P183
Date
2025-10-06
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Keywords
Social work, collaboration, critical realism, family support, inter-professional, children and families
Citation
van Eck, M, Ettema, R, Cloin, M, de Jong, A, van Genk, C & Van Regenmortel, T 2025, 'The lived experiences and perspectives of families receiving integrated social care : A CAIMeR-informed inquiry', Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/14680173251383369
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess