Conclusion

This book has examined how policy trends that promote interprofessional collaboration and service user participation are implemented (or not) through frontline practices in multi-agency meetings. The challenges faced by service users are seen as complex and interconnected, demanding many kinds of expertise for them to be understood, assessed and resolved. As a result, collaboration and participation together have become the prevailing approach in health and social care policy in Western welfare states. Bringing together diverse viewpoints of professionals and service users is also thought to create boundary spaces that, at their best, produce joined-up thinking and constructive debate, resulting in novel ideas. ...