Skip to Main Content
Cummings Graduate Institute logo

 LOG IN via SSO

Banner image with CORE Library logo

Levels of Integration

Selecting a Topic for the Culminating Project

As part of your ePortfolio defense, you will discuss your Culminating Project and present draft Research Question(s) and Hypothes(es) on your chosen topic.

The goals for a Culminating Project are as follows:

  1. Apply what you have learned throughout the DBH Program in the real world to make a measurable impact. 
  2. Reveal how the Culminating Project  (CP) incorporates an element of integrated care and advances integrated healthcare. 
  3. Be able to use your work in the DBH program, including the CP, as leverage to assist you in expanding career opportunities 
  4. Present, publish, or otherwise share the work completed during the CP within healthcare settings to educate providers, patients, caregivers, communities, and/or executives. 

Use the criteria below to ensure your topic meets the expectations for a Culminating Project.

Requirement 1: The proposed topic should be aligned with integrated care principles.

Use the criteria below to ensure your topic meets the expectations for a Culminating Project.

1.  How is this project aligned with integrated care principles? (IFIC 9 principles.)

Explanation: Consider the project's alignment with the core principles of integrated care, focusing on:

  1. Values and vision
  2. Population health and local context
  3. People as partners
  4. Resilient communities and alliances/partnerships
  5. Workforce capacity and capability
  6. System wide governance and leadership
  7. Digital solutions
  8. Aligned payment systems
  9. Transparency of progress, results, and impact

More Information:  International Foundation for Integrated Care. (n.d.). Nine pillars of integrated care. Retrieved from https://integratedcarefoundation.org/nine-pillars-of-integrated-care.

See also:  Principles of Integrated Care Research Guide

Requirement 2: The project should reflect the principles of co-design.

How are people involved as partners? (Principles of Co-Design.)

Explanation: Does the project actively incorporate the principles of co-design, ensuring that people with lived experience play a central role in shaping the care and services provided? 

More Information: Patient Experience Agency. (2024, November 25). The fundamentals of co-design in healthcare.  https://www.patientexperienceagency.com.au/blog/fundamentals-of-co-design-in-healthcare

See Also:  Principles of Co-Design Research Guide

Requirement 3: The project should expand the level of integration.

Current and Future Level of Integration (SAMHSA/NatCon Framework and Finance Resources.)

Explanation: What is the current level of integration in the system or community, and what level does the project aim to achieve?  Consider how the project plans to progress through different levels of integration (e.g., from basic coordination to full integration) using frameworks like the SAMHSA/NatCon models and available financial resources.

More Information:  National Council for Mental Wellbeing. (n.d.). Resources. National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Retrieved from https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/program/center-of-excellence/resources/Links to an external site.

See also:  Levels of Integration Research Guide

Evaluation of Topic

Your choice of topic will be evaluated at several points during the Culminating Project process, using the following additional criteria:

Originality

How innovative is this proposal; i.e., does this submission progress knowledge on this subject? 

Would the proposal lead to original findings, or do conceptual arguments provide a new perspective on established thinking?

 Highly original Somewhat original Slightly original Not original Not applicable/ unsure

Clarity

How clear and logically structured is the writing?

 Very clear Somewhat clear Somewhat unclear Very unclear

Relevance

How relevant is the proposal to the identified needs of the target population?

 Highly relevant Somewhat relevant Slightly relevant Not relevant Unsure

 

Should the student decide to change the topic with research question(s) or hypothesis(es) by the time they enroll in DBH 9101, they must seek approval for the changes with the CP Committee NO LATER than the first week of enrollment in DBH 9101.