The Early Impact of the People-centred Integrated Care on the Hypertension Management in Shenzhen

The objective of this article is to evaluate the impact of the integrated care in Luohu, China on the hypertension management.

Making Connections that Count – a Case Study of the Family Referral Service in Schools Program on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia

The Family-Referral-Services-In-Schools (FRSIS) is an early-intervention case management program for children and families with complex unmet needs, providing access to family support, housing, mental health care, and/or drug and alcohol services. The in-school trial setting was aimed at improving service uptake which was low in its community counterpart.

The Implementation of Integrated Health Information Systems – Research Studies from 7 Countries Involving the InterRAI Assessment System

In the past years, governments from several countries have shown interest in implementing integrated health information systems. The interRAI Suite of instruments fits this concept, as it is a set of standardised, evidence-based assessments, which have been validated for different care settings. The system allows the electronic transfer of information across care settings, enabling integration of care and providing support for care planning and quality monitoring. The main purpose of this research is to describe the recent implementation process of the interRAI instruments in seven countries: Belgium, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand.

Health and Social Care Reform in Scotland – What Next?

This paper analyses the important enablers, barriers and impacts of country-wide implementation of integrated health and social care in Scotland. It offers insights for other systems seeking to advance similar policy and practice. Landmark legislation was based on a shared vision and narrative about improving outcomes for people and communities. Implementation has involved coordination of multiple policies and interventions for different life stages, care groups, care settings and local context within a dynamic and complex system.

Integrated Health and Social Care in the United States: A Decade of Policy Progress

Over the last decade in the United States (US), the burden of chronic disease, health care costs, and fragmented care delivery have increased at alarming rates. To address these challenges, policymakers have prioritized new payment and delivery models to incentivize better integrated health and social services. This paper outlines three major national and state policy initiatives to improve integrated health and social care over the last ten years in the US, with a focus on the Medicaid public insurance program for Americans with low incomes.

Integrated Care in Switzerland: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Federal System

Switzerland’s fragmented healthcare system mirrors its federal structure and mix of cultures and languages. Although the Swiss have a higher life expectancy than most of their neighbours, their healthcare system faces similar challenges that call for more integrated care (IC). This article aims to provide insight into the specificities of and latest developments in Switzerland’s healthcare system and how they may have influenced the development and implementation of IC there.

Does Integrated Care Carry the Gene of Bureaucracy? Lessons from the Case of Québec

Demographic and epidemiological transitions of industralized countries mean health systems have to integrate health and social services to respond to the changing needs of their populations. Efforts to integrate care involve important policy and structural changes. This paper examines whether integration efforts are lost in translation during the bureaucratic appropriation of models, or, in an allegorical way, do they reveal genes of bureaucracy?

Perspectives of people with Parkinson's disease and family carers about disease management in community settings: A cross-country qualitative study

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of people with Parkinson's disease and family carers about the use and impact of health and social care services, community and voluntary sector resources for the management of Parkinson's disease. Resources from outside the formal health care system and collaborations between different levels and sectors could address the unmet needs of people with Parkinson's disease and their family carers and improve the management of Parkinson's disease in the community setting. An integrated and person-and-community-centred approach, which includes the participation of the health, social, voluntary and community sectors ...

Reflecting on challenges and opportunities for the practice of person-centred rehabilitation

Nursing Care Coordination in Primary Healthcare for Patients with Complex Needs: A Comparative Case Study

Despite nurses’ substantial role in care coordination, few education programs exist to better support them in this role. Identification of a set of core care coordination activities across heterogeneous care coordination programs would facilitate the development of a standard of practice. We sought to examine care coordination activities across two care coordination programs in Family Medicine Groups in Quebec, and their relationship to the program design.