European Integrated Care Horizon 2020: increase societal participation; reduce care demands and costs in Finnish context

Abstract

This project is part of larger European level integrated care project led by HU University of Applied Sciences.Background: In Finland, the integration of social and health care services has taken centre stage in both the policy and practice arenas. The needs of many client groups, for example mental health client, older people and families of child, are many and varied.For example, poor mental health considerably impairs well-being of the population and has considerable economic consequences like absence from work, early retirement and productive losses. Efforts to move towards integrated care in social and health care have been met with increased interest and enthusiasm in recent years. This will increase the focus to improve care and population health while containing costs. However, there is a need to better understand different integrated care approaches for social and health care and guide future implementation of new integrated care models.It is now important to move towards integrated care for many client groups e.g. mental disorders. In this, professionals with different training backgrounds co-ordinate their expertise in providing care for theirshared clients. It provides a safe nexus for the exchange of knowledge and opinions, as well as a framework for reaching a consensus about appropriate health care delivery for a particular client or client cohort. The client should have an immediate access to integrated care, with a focus on rehabilitation in patient’s social roles.Aim: Support societal participation, quality of live and reduce care demand and costs in social and health care client, for example mental health client through integration of healthcare and welfare services.