Integrated Health and Social Care

Integrated health and social care is a field that reflects one of the most pressing organisational challenges facing public services in the UK: how to deliver care to people whose needs span both health and social systems in a coordinated, person-centred way. The discipline draws on nursing and allied health knowledge, social work, public health, psychology, and policy studies to examine how health and social care systems work, how they fall short, and what effective integration looks like in practice. It is a degree shaped by real-world service contexts and the people who use and deliver them.

At Anglia Ruskin University, this degree is available on a part-time basis, which makes it particularly relevant for those who are already working in health or social care settings and wish to develop their academic understanding alongside their professional practice. You will study the same content as full-time students, though sometimes in a different order to accommodate the part-time structure. Topics typically include the policy landscape of health and social care, person-centred approaches, safeguarding, leadership and management in integrated services, ethics, and the evidence base for effective practice.

The degree develops your ability to think critically about service design and delivery as well as your practical skills as a practitioner.

Graduates are well placed for roles across the NHS, local authority social care, voluntary sector organisations, and integrated care systems. Many are already working in care when they study and use the degree to move into more senior practice, supervisory, or management roles. The combination of health and social care knowledge is increasingly valued as integrated care systems become the norm in the UK.

Postgraduate study in healthcare management, public health, social work, or policy is an option for those who want to develop specialist expertise or pursue leadership roles.