Implementing people-centred health systems governance in 3 provinces and 11 districts of Afghanistan: a case study

Meeting the Needs of the Growing Very Old Population: Policy Implications for a Global Challenge

Very old adults are one of the fastest-growing age groups worldwide. Yet they rarely constitute a targeted group for public policies. Drawing on the results of the centenarian studies presented in this special issue, we highlight major challenges that arise from the increase of this population. We outline several promising approaches for policy makers and professionals to develop evidence-based policies and programs that are tailored to the needs of very old adults and their families. We focus our discussion on three key topics essential to life care: the importance of integrated care to meet the complex care needs of the very old; the balance between formal and informal care; and the development of suitable places for living. Besides more specific measures, we propose that policies promoting the social integration of very old adults in their communities would be particularly helpful, as these may benefit not only the very old and ...

Spreading change: A guide to enabling the spread of person- and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing

This guide outlines how behavioural science can help spread the take-up of person- and community-centred approaches to health and wellbeing.

Key findings

•     The guide uses the EAST framework to organise ideas and examples. The core message of EAST is that if you want to encourage a behaviour, you should make it Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.
•     The guide features a number of low-tech, pragmatic and manageable activities which can increase the spread of person- and community-centred health and wellbeing programmes.

This action-focused guide is part of the NHS England-funded Realising the Value programme, which seeks to develop person- and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. The programme is doing so by building the evidence base and developing tools, resources and networks to support the spread and impact of these approaches.

It is aimed at people who champion these approaches in health and social care, in other statutory bodies and in ...

Supporting self-management: A guide to enabling behaviour change for health and wellbeing using person- and community-centred approaches

This guide outlines how the science of behaviour can help people to self-manage their health and wellbeing.

Key findings

• The guide uses the EAST framework to organise ideas and examples. The core message of EAST is that if you want to encourage a behaviour, you should make it Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.
• The guide features a number of low-tech, pragmatic and manageable activities which can increase the spread of person- and community-centred health and wellbeing programmes.

This action-focused guide is part of the NHS England-funded Realising the Value programme, which seeks to develop person- and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. The programme is doing so by building the evidence base and developing tools, resources and networks to support the spread and impact of these approaches.

This guide offers two things: a framework for understanding and changing behaviour, and real-world examples of how these changes happen in practice

It ...

Healthy China : deepening health reform in China building high-quality and value-based service delivery

As many other countries, China faces big challenges to meet the health care needs of her citizens, associated with a rapidly aging society and increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Also, health costs have been growing at a rate higher than GDP growth since 2008.

Since the launch of health reform in 2009, China has invested significantly in health infrastructure at the grassroots level and made progress in building the primary care doctors system. Basic public health services capacity has been significantly enhanced. China is progressing quickly to achieving universal health coverage and some of the reform achievements have attracted worldwide attention.

The reform commanded many innovative pilots in health financing and service delivery at the local level and provided a strong foundation for the next stage of reform. This report aim to support China during this reform phase by recommending 8 sets of strategic reform directions, referred to as ...

Better transfers of care for older people: How to improve transitions from hospital

Drawing on the findings from recent reports by The King’s Fund, Healthwatch England, the National Audit Office, the Care Quality Commission and the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO), this event will explore new ways of ensuring older people experience a safe, appropriate and timely discharge that is right for them and their health needs. In this event you will discover good practice examples in health, local government, social care, community services and housing and learn how services can plan ahead across their whole populations to proactively manage those most at risk.

Integrated team working: a literature review

This literature review was conducted to provide a background understanding of the literature around integrated health and social care prior to a research proyect evaluating two integrated health and social care teams in England, UK. 

Digital Health and Care Congress 2018. Technology and data.

This two-day congress provides an established forum for health and care professionals to come together and learn from successful adoptions and practical implementations of digital health and care. The aim of the event is to share learning and encourage adoption, so your project should be active, showing digital technology in practice under one of the project themes above.

Project themes

Primary Health Care That Works: The Costa Rican Experience

Long considered a paragon among low- and middle-income countries in its provision of primary health care, Costa Rica reformed its primary health care system in 1994 using a model that, despite its success, has been generally understudied: basic integrated health care teams. This case study provides a detailed description of Costa Rica’s innovative implementation of four critical service delivery reforms and explains how those reforms supported the provision of the four essential functions of primary health care: first-contact access, coordination, continuity, and comprehensiveness. As countries around the world pursue high-quality universal health coverage to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, Costa Rica’s experiences provide valuable lessons about both the types of primary health care reforms needed and potential mechanisms through which these reforms can be successfully implemented.

COVID-19: General recommendations for the care of older persons from a human rights perspective

Older people may be more likely to experience complications during the COVID-19 pandemic, so this paper provides recommendations for the care of this social group from a human rights perspective, which can be applied in the home, community and long-term care facilities. These recommendations were drawn up on the basis of good practices in countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region and beyond.

Global Health Compassion Rounds: Compassion, WASH, and Quality of Care

The world requires urgent action on WASH for the benefit of people across the world. Compassion is increasingly recognized as a critical consideration for health and development. The need for compassion—awareness, empathy and action—to be at the heart of quality of care efforts has never been so important. The confluence of these three areas—compassion/WASH/quality—requires active exploration to help us collectively accelerate urgent action. Join us as we learn how specific WASH tools are vectors for compassion in the health arena and explore how this “compassion-WASH-quality” triangulation can yield positive results for people.

Targeting integrated care to those most likely to need frequent health care: a review of social and clinical risk factors

This rapid review was commissioned by the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) and the Sax Institute in Australia to examine the evidence concerning social and clinical risk factors which may be significant predictors of both pre-hospital and hospital service utilisation. The context is that the NSW Ministry of Health wishes to develop a NSW approach for risk stratification and patient selection that identifies people who are at risk(s) of poorer health outcome(s), and enable targeted delivery of integrated care to those who will maximally benefit.

Becoming part of an upwards spiral: Meanings of being person-centred in nursing homes

Previous research suggests that person- centred care is positive for people living in nursing homes, but less is known on what motivates people working in nursing homes to be person- centred. Previous research has focused on person-centred care in relation to people in need of care, which may lead to a risk of viewing person- centred care as a means to achieve quality of care, and not as a means in itself. This study highlights health aspects of being person- centred from the perspective of people working in nursing homes, and complements previous research that describes the impact of person- centred care on people in need of care.

What does Success Look Like for Leaders of Integrated Health and Social Care Systems? a Realist Review

Health and social care services in England are moving towards greater integration, yet little is known about how leadership of integrated care teams and systems can be supported and improved. This realist review explores what works about the leadership of integrated care teams and systems, for whom, in what circumstances and why. This review has generated new perspectives on the leadership of integrated care teams and systems that can be built upon, developed, and tested further.

Caregiving and Caregiver Health 1 Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic (CUIDAR-SE Study): A Gender Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of informal care and shown that women continue to shoulder the brunt of responsibilities in this area. In this study, we analyzed differences in caregiving and self-perceived health in a group of informal male and female caregivers 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with male caregivers, female caregivers were more likely to experience increases in caregiving intensity and burden and a decline in self-perceived health as a result of the pandemic.