Integrating long-term care in Europe – Improving policy and practice

Abstract

This workshop will serve to launch the publication ‘Long-term care in Europe – Improving policy and practice’, edited by Kai Leichsenring, Jenny Billings and Henk Nies [1] and present selected issues and findings from a transversal analysis of themes and key-issues in constructing integrated long-term care, carried out on the basis of the FP7 Project INTERLINKS (http://interlinks.euro.centre.org). The presentation will use numerous practice examples to illustrate innovative processes and potential ways ahead in integrating long-term care for older people in Europe. The main focus of the workshop will be to discuss latest trends in integrated long-term care beyond managed care and standards on disease management. The workshop will focus in particular on the following topics (see separate abstracts attached): • Identity-building as a precondition for integrated long-term care [2] • Prevention and rehabilitation and integrated long-term care [3] • Quality development across organisations and settings [4] • The role of information technology in integrating long-term care [5] It is also planned to invite policy-makers from the Netherlands, Germany and Austria to this workshop to comment on opportunities to learn from European knowledge exchange.