Shared Data As a Mechanism for Integration between Housing and Health Sectors: A Qualitative Interview Study in the UK
- 1University College London
Abstract
BackgroundData sharing is widely positioned as a key mechanism for enabling integration between health and non-health sectors, particularly in relation to wider determinants such as housing. However, there is limited empirical understanding of how cross-sector data sharing is enacted in practice.
MethodsSemi-structured interviews were undertaken with professionals from housing, NHS, public health and voluntary and community sector organisations in the UK. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, informed by Normalisation Process Theory. A typology of data sharing models was developed inductively.
ResultsFrom 27 interviews, six models were identified through which data sharing enabled and sustained integration across sectors. Models ranged from referral pathways supporting individual-level coordination to linked datasets supporting population-level service planning and monitoring. Participants balanced potential benefits against concerns relating to privacy, trust and organisational capacity. While initiatives supported improved coordination and greater recognition of housing as a determinant of health, some remained emergent and unevenly embedded.
DiscussionIntegration depended not only on digital infrastructure, but on the relational and organisational work required to legitimise and operationalise data sharing.
ConclusionPolicies emphasising digital infrastructure as a means to integration should be complemented by attention to the relational, organisational and ethical conditions required to support effective cross-sector data sharing.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{adegboye2026shared,
title = {{Shared Data As a Mechanism for Integration between Housing and Health Sectors: A Qualitative Interview Study in the UK}},
author = {O. Adegboye and E. Wyke and S. Ali and J. Veltman and J. Sheringham},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.20.26366050},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.26366050v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Shared Data As a Mechanism for Integration between Housing and Health Sectors: A Qualitative Interview Study in the UK
AU - O. Adegboye
AU - E. Wyke
AU - S. Ali
AU - J. Veltman
AU - J. Sheringham
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.20.26366050
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.26366050v1
AB - BackgroundData sharing is widely positioned as a key mechanism for enabling integration between health and non-health sectors, particularly in relation to wider determinants such as housing. However, there is limited empirical understanding of how cross-sector data sharing is enacted in practice. MethodsSemi-structured interviews were undertaken with professionals from housing, NHS, public health and voluntary and community sector organisations in the UK. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, informed by Normalisation Process Theory. A typology of data sharing models was developed inductively. ResultsFrom 27 interviews, six models were identified through which data sharing enabled and sustained integration across sectors. Models ranged from referral pathways supporting individual-level coordination to linked datasets supporting population-level service planning and monitoring. Participants balanced potential benefits against concerns relating to privacy, trust and organisational capacity. While initiatives supported improved coordination and greater recognition of housing as a determinant of health, some remained emergent and unevenly embedded. DiscussionIntegration depended not only on digital infrastructure, but on the relational and organisational work required to legitimise and operationalise data sharing. ConclusionPolicies emphasising digital infrastructure as a means to integration should be complemented by attention to the relational, organisational and ethical conditions required to support effective cross-sector data sharing.
ER -