The ComCiN-Tool
A Tool to Examine the Complexity of the Collaboration in Homecare Networks
Developed within the research project EIKI.
Funded by the „Ministerium für Soziales und Integration Baden-Württemberg“.
What's at issue?
Several different actors are involved in the provision of homecare or support to those in need of it. They form an individual homecare network. The networks of people in need of care are different, e.g. in terms of their size, composition and separation of tasks. With the help of the ComCiN-Tool, the complexity of cooperation in a care network is to be examined. The focus in the analysis of cooperation is on communication and organization in the networks.
Figure 1: Visualization of the ComCiN-Tool for examining the complexity of collaboration in homecare networks
What should the tool be used for?
The tool can be used to analyze the status quo of a homecare network. It helps understand the interrelationships of collaboration and fosters the discussion to derivate measures for improvement. Thus, the target of the tool is to support the facilitation of collaboration in homecare networks.
How does the tool work?
The tool contains 13 dimensions that influence communication and organization in homecare network. These can be subdivided into three meta-characteristics: network, tasks and communication. Figure 1 shows a visualization of the relationships between the dimensions and the meta-characteristics.
Each dimension of the ComCiN-Tool is divided into three characteristics: less, more, highly complex. For each dimension only one characteristic is chosen. At the end, the degree of complexity of each dimension is copied into a radar chart. This provides an overview of the complexity of communication and organization in a homecare network.
Who may use the tool?
The tool can be applied by everyone who is interested in homecare networks and wants to understand how collaboration in homecare networks works.
This could be, for example:
- Outpatient care services that want to support their customers' networks in communication and organization.
- Purely informal networks, such as when only family members and friends care for a person in need of support. They can map and improve their collaboration.
- Software solution providers who want to understand how communication in homecare networks works. They may be able to improve their software product or more specifically address the target user group.
Who developed the tool?
The tool was developed within the framework of the research project "EIKI". The project is funded by the “Ministerium für Soziales und Integration Baden-Württemberg” from 2018 till 2021 with funds from the state of Baden-Württemberg. The tool was developed through a cooperation between Furtwangen University and Fraunhofer IAO.
Who can I contact with questions?
For questions, feedback and suggestions please contact the following persons: