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 ...

Integrated Care Programs for People with Multimorbidity in European Countries: eHealth Adoption in Health Systems

eHealth applications have the potential to provide new integrated care services to patients with multimorbidity (MM), also supporting multidisciplinary care. The aim of this paper is to explore how widely eHealth tools have been currently adopted in integrated care programs for (older) people with MM in European countries, including benefits and barriers concerning their adoption, according to some basic health system characteristics.

Integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) in Ireland: lessons learnt

Following presentation of Dr. Áine Carroll, Consultant at The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) and Professor of Healthcare Integration and Improvement at UCD describes current lessons learnt in the design and delivering of integrated people-centred health services in Ireland.

In the context of challenging emerging demands and system constraints, a clinical strategy and over 30 national programs have been developed to improve clinician and patient experience at the lower cost. Dr. Carroll, addresses the challenges of implementing integrated care programs and highlights the most recent achievements of national policy “Sláintecare Action Plan” that contributes to make integrated care a reality. Several elements as patient narratives, partnership and leadership make up the health system’s capacities for building integration at micro, meso and macro level.

Please check out the video: https://pro.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=5e8a430a-519d-45ad-88ad-ac7100d48a92