SHIP

SHIP – Safety and Health Integrated Care Partnership

SHIP is a research collaboration between Södra Älvsborg Hospital, the Centre for Healthcare Architecture at Chalmers University of Technology and the Institute of Health and Care Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.

The collaboration brings together clinical practice with research and knowledge relating to healthcare, health and healthcare environments. Its purpose is to establish a strong research environment in selected areas and contribute to high-quality care, evidence-based healthcare environments and attractive workplaces. The aim is to develop new knowledge that can contribute to more efficient healthcare, better health and appropriate use of resources.

The collaboration takes a long-term approach, focusing on developing sustainable ways of working rather than individual initiatives. Through close exchange of knowledge between academia and healthcare services, SHIP aims to contribute to improvements for patients, strengthened expertise and the development of healthcare.

Challenge-driven research

SHIP focuses on sustainability, innovation and healthcare. The collaboration builds on the geographical proximity of the partners and brings together different areas of expertise and perspectives.

By coordinating research and development resources in the region, SHIP creates better conditions for innovation, knowledge exchange and the development of healthcare.

For healthcare to meet future needs, it must be accessible, safe, sustainable and adapted to individual needs. Care should be available close to where people live their lives. This means that homes and other environments where people spend time need to enable the provision of care, whether advanced or more straightforward interventions are required.

Healthcare facilities need to be designed to allow different forms of care to work together and to ensure that people feel seen and acknowledged. Organisational barriers should not stand in the way of meeting the needs of patients and their families. Digital tools and ways of working should support patients throughout their care pathways. Healthcare of the future needs to be based on patients’ needs and delivered in collaboration with families and engaged, skilled healthcare professionals.

Frail older people – a growing population

The number of older people is increasing, which also means that the population of frail older people is growing. Many live with multiple health conditions and have complex care needs that current healthcare services are not always organised to meet. At the same time, older people are more active than ever and many want to be involved in decisions about their care.

Healthcare needs to evolve to meet these challenges. Current problems include limited accessibility, long waiting times, poor communication between different levels of care and shortcomings in quality and patient safety. Care also does not always take sufficient account of individual needs. Together, these challenges also contribute to difficulties in recruiting and retaining healthcare staff.

Healthcare is still often organised around the needs of the healthcare system rather than those of the individual. The situation is complex and requires collaboration across different perspectives, disciplines and organisations. SHIP is a unique collaboration between healthcare organisations and researchers and educators from different academic disciplines.

Integrated local healthcare

Integrated local healthcare is an umbrella term for a new approach to health, healthcare and social care. Care that people need frequently and close to where they live needs to be strengthened and developed.

Achieving this requires collaboration between many different organisations and services, including specialist care, primary care and municipal health and social care. The transition towards integrated local healthcare aims to provide better coordinated services and improve opportunities for patients to receive regular care in their own homes. More knowledge is needed about how this can be achieved safely and sustainably.

Healthcare environment research

Healthcare environment research examines the importance of the environment for health and well-being. The research focuses on the experiences of patients, families and staff in healthcare and social care environments.

It also examines how healthcare-related harm, both psychosocial and physical, can be prevented and which health economic factors are associated with the environment.

The concept of environment encompasses both the physical and the perceived environment. It includes what objectively surrounds us, but also how we experience a place, the meaning we attribute to it and how the environment affects us and our interactions with others.

Patient safety

Safe care involves preventing and avoiding healthcare-related harm. Sweden achieves good medical outcomes, but more than 100,000 patients are still harmed in healthcare each year. Shortcomings in patient safety cause considerable suffering for individuals and increase costs to society.

Adequate, evidence-based knowledge of patient safety among everyone working in healthcare is essential for identifying risks, preventing harm and developing safer care.