Different Contexts, Similar Challenges. SUSTAIN’s Experiences with Improving Integrated Care in Europe

摘要

In 2019, we finalized a four-year EU-funded research project on integrated care for older people called ‘SUSTAIN’(see Textbox 1 below). We initiated the project to helpaddress the challenges faced by those practicing integrated care, including how to successfully collaborate withorganisations and professionals from different sectors;how to incorporate integrated working in one’s servicedelivery; and how to provide integrated care tailored tothe needs of one’s older service users [1–5]. The SUSTAINproject was designed to support the development of integrated care for older people living at home with healthand social care needs. Its objectives were twofold: 1. Tosupport and monitor improvements to established integrated care initiatives and 2. To contribute to the adoptionand application of such improvements to other healthand social care systems and regions in Europe. The projectadopted a participatory implementation approach, meaning that stakeholders from thirteen established integratedcare initiatives across Europe collaborated with SUSTAINresearchers to develop and implement a wide variety ofactivities to improve integrated care delivery within anumber of domains: person-centredness, prevention-orientation, safety, efficiency, and coordination. Throughoutthe project, SUSTAIN researchers evaluated progress andoutcomes of these improvement processes [6].