Intersectoral Relationships between Capital Health and the Voluntary Health Sector in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Abstract

Voluntary organizations have long been involved in health care, but are often not included in the spectrum of health care providers. They represent an underutilised resource for health system planners. This research study investigated how the voluntary health sector and the formal health care sector interact in pursuit of their respective goals, and it looked at how the two sectors can work more complementarily by discovering how they work together currently. A paper-based questionnaire was used to gather data on voluntary health organizations operating within the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Using the responses, a typology of intersectoral relationships was devised, which was then used to uncover the associations between organizational characteristics and types of relationships. The findings can allow both sectors to optimise the ways in which they interact.