Being a member of a novel transitional case management team for patients with unstable housing: an ethnographic study

BACKGROUND: Homeless and unstably housed individuals face barriers in accessing healthcare despite experiencing greater health needs than the general population. Case management programs are effectively used to provide care for this population. However, little is known about the experiences of providers, their needs, and the ways they can be supported in their roles. Connect 2 Care (C2C) is a mobile outreach team that provides transitional case management for vulnerable individuals in a major Canadian city. Using an ethnographic approach, we aimed to describe the experiences of C2C team members and explore their perceptions and challenges. METHODS: We conducted participant observations and semi-structured interviews with C2C team members. Data analysis consisted of inductive thematic analysis to identify themes that were iteratively discussed. RESULTS: From 36 h of field observations with eight team members and 15 semi-structured interviews with 12 team members, we identified five overarching themes: 1) Hiring the right people & onboarding: becoming part of C2C; 2) Working as a team member: from experience to expertise; 3) Proud but unsupported: adding value but undervalued; 4) Team-initiated coping: satisfaction in the face of emotional strain, and; 5) Likes and dislikes: committed to challenges. CONCLUSIONS: A cohesive team of providers with suitable personal and professional characteristics is essential to care for this complex population. Emotional support and inclusion of frontline workers in operational decisions are important considerations for optimal care and program sustainability. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07590-6.