Case Management in Aotearoa New Zealand

The role of a case manager remains invisible and poorly understood despite international evidence supporting the unique role case managers can play in enhancing integrated care,

This project is seeking to explore the jobs, roles and relationships of case managers to demystify case management in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Background

Despite international evidence supporting the unique role case managers play enhancing integrated care, the role of a case manager remains invisible and poorly understood.  One workforce review by the Ministry of Health listed around 50 health care roles but did not name case management. This is problematic because case managers can provide much needed glue holding together fragmented health care services and interprofessional teams.

There is also notable NZ specific variation in terminology (e.g., local area co-ordinators, whānau navigators and kai-maanaki whānau etc). A case manager is defined as a named person who delivers both continuity of care and co-ordination of care by providing, planning and organising health care delivery.

Aim

Explore jobs, roles and relationships of case managers to demystify case management in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Methods

A multiphase project is underway. Phase one focuses on the development of a national database of health care providers currently employing case managers. Phase two is a scoping and mapping review of the jobs, roles, and relationships of case managers across New Zealand. In Phase three, data will be collected from case managers to provide additional insights into how they understand their roles and responsibilities

Outcome

Our findings (open access) are now published and can be found here:

• C.; Chan, W.-Y.; Wepa, D.
  Demystifying Case Management in Aotearoa New Zealand
  Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 784.
  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010784

Further details

• Overview of data sources
• Summary of jobs roles and relationships
• Ecomaps exemplars
• References for each case management role
• Summary of findings