Innovating care for people with multimorbidity through integration

Abstract

Introduction: An estimated 50 million people in Europe suffer from multiple chronic diseases. The complex health care problems of these patients and their need for continuous and multidisciplinary care poses a great challenge to health systems and social services. Integration lies in the core of care innovation. The main aim is to describe and analyze the role of integration as a tool for innovating care in the context of multimorbidity. In particular the study addresses interand intraorganizational multi-actor and multiprofessional collaboration as a core of integration processes. The study is a part of the international ICARE4EU project (www.icare4eu.org), which aims to improve the care for people suffering from multiple chronic conditions. Theory/Methods: Theoretical background consists of the integration approaches (e.g. Lawrence & Lorsch 1967, Sinkkonen & Jaatinen 2003, Pieper 2006, Antunes & Moreira 2011, Nolte & Pitchforth 2014). The data was collected during the first half of 2014 within the ICARE4EU programme through a survey in 31 European countries. An on-line questionnaire was targeted to project managers of integrative programmes focusing on providing care for adult people with two or more medically diagnosed chronic or long lasting diseases. Data consists of structured questions focusing on changes in structures and processes, competencies required in care provision and collaboration issues. The final data includes 144 filled questionnaires. Data analysis is currently in process. Results: The preliminary findings show the crucial significance of integration in innovating the care for people of multimorbidity. In particular, the findings address the factors promoting or hindering multiprofessional collaboration. The final findings will be presented in the conference paper. Discussion and conclusions: Integration and multidisciplinary collaboration are key issues when planning the care for people with multimorbidity. The implications of the research results for the management of the care for people with multimorbidity will be discussed. International Journal of Integrated Care – Volume 15, 27 May – URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-116977 – http://www.ijic.org/ 15th International Conference on Integrated Care, Edinburgh, UK, March 25-27, 2015 2 Limitations, suggestions for future research: The study focused on the development programmes. In future research focusing on perspectives of professionals and managers working in the care field is needed.