A case study: The impact of service integration on human service providers

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of service integration on the lives of human service providers.;Using a case study approach, fourteen individuals from the Integrated Adult Addiction System in Thunder Bay, Ontario shared their experiences through either semi-structured interviews or a focus group. Documentation specific to the addiction system in Ontario was reviewed to provide the context of integration in Ontario and its specific impact on the evolution of integration within the addiction system in Thunder Bay, Ontario.;This study presents a number of major findings that have been categorized into positive and negative implications of service integration on human service providers and highlight the complex nature of providing integrated services. The findings from this study are significant not only to the experiences of human service providers, but how integration is viewed and implemented from a policy and management perspective. This understanding will serve to enhance and broaden our understanding of integration to be inclusive of not only policy and client perspectives, but also of human service providers. The findings have further lead to a number of recommendations for the integrated system to consider.;Although integration in the human service field has been vastly studied over the years, there has been very little research that has focused on the people who work within or deliver integrated services. In order to have a fuller understanding of integration this study has focused specifically on the front-line staff who deliver integrated services on a daily basis.