IPCHS Practices

Learn from real-life experiences with health services reform. We distinguish three types: emerging, promising and leading practices. Share your practice by clicking "Add practice".

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Oct. 11, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Strengthening governance and accountability, Reorienting the model of care

Strengthening community-based mental health services in Cyprus

New political commitments to mental health reform led the government to pass the Mental Health Act in 1997 to promote community-based mental health care; a wide variety of community-based mental health services have been made available, with emphasis on services for prevention, early treatment, rehabilitation and home care; advocacy from the health workforce motivated reforms and helped define the vision for care transformations; strategic timing was an important contributing factor in achieving political support for mental health reform; partnerships with NGOs and volunteer organizations helped expand the continuum of mental health care.

Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors

Introducing palliative care in Serbia

The Ministry of Health established the Palliative Care Task Force and adopted the National Strategy for Palliative Care to guide the development of palliative care across Serbia; partnerships with international organizations, local NGOs and supportive government actors helped secure buy-in at the national level; developing a legislative and political base was essential for creating a foundation on which to build the initiative; securing EU funding provided additional resources to support activities; incorporating a new palliative care philosophy within professional culture required extensive training, communication, advocacy and time; formalizing educational opportunities through university partnerships helped to ensure sustainability.

Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors

Integrating occupational therapy into cancer care in the Netherlands

Reade – an organization specializing in rehabilitative care – introduced a package of services specifically tailored to the needs of cancer patients and cancer survivors; support from Reade’s management in developing protocols and negotiating with national-level actors was essential for the implementation of the initiative; providers within Reade were brought together to apply their skills to treating the complex needs of cancer patients and survivors. Providers work in multidisciplinary teams to enable the delivery of more comprehensive care; initiative leaders built strong working relationships with external providers. This helped bring other providers on board with Reade’s new care concept and ...

Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Strengthening governance and accountability, Coordinating services within and across sectors

Establishing a Gerontology Coordination Centre to improve care for the elderly in Monaco

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs opened the Gerontology Coordination Centre as a dedicated resource to support and provide services to elderly people aged 60 years and over; Monaco's small geographic and population size lent itself to a centralized approach. The initiative created a hub for the coordination of multiple aspects of health and social care for the elderly; services offered by the Centre are holistic, integrated, tailored to individual needs and place strong emphasis on supporting patients’ independence. Comprehensive geriatric assessments evaluating physical, mental and social needs are now available to all people aged 60 years and ...

Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors, Creating an enabling environment

Strengthening diabetes service delivery at the primary care level in Iceland

Following grassroots efforts to increase the role of primary care providers in managing patients with diabetes, formal clinical guidelines to support diabetes care delivery at the primary level were published in 2009. The delivery of diabetes-related care in primary settings is increasing as a result; knowledge gained through experiences working abroad provided inspiration for the initiative and fostered local innovation; informal discussions among providers had sufficient power to initially motivate and direct change; incorporating trainings for providers into the formal education system helped to establish a new standard of care and ensured sustainability of knowledge.

Sept. 7, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors

Community support programmes for people affected by dementia in Athens, Greece

The nonprofit organization AAADRD opened four day care centres across Athens to directly provide support services to people affected by dementia. The organization also campaigned extensively to gain attention for their cause and pushed the government to develop a national dementia action plan; highly motivated actors directly affected by dementia or working in related fields played an important role in identifying and understanding service delivery gaps; as a specialized organization, AAADRD was able to mobilize a large network of dedicated supporters. Connections established with similar organizations furthered advocacy efforts; sustainability of the initiative relies on growing government commitment, securing resources ...

Sept. 6, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Creating an enabling environment

Advancing the role of nurses in Finland to improve patients’ access to care

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health promoted the shift of responsibilities from physicians to nurses through implementing supportive policies, legislation and incentives; partnerships and international networks facilitated information exchanges and offered inspiration for activities during the initiative’s design; national legislation provided the necessary framework for aligning changes in the professional scope of practice for nurses; the development of postgraduate advanced nursing programmes in partnership with universities supported the sustainability of the initiative and ensured the continuing development of nursing skills; advancing nursing roles contributed to professional empowerment and improved workplace well-being for both nurses and physicians.

Aug. 30, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors

House of Generations Schwaz: A one-stop shop for providing health and social services in Austria

The Municipality of Schwaz reorganized local health and social services around the purpose-built House of Generations; co-location of services increased coordination and improved access for vulnerable groups; shared living spaces, group activities and cooperative initiatives within the House of Generations generated a sense of community, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for vulnerable groups; strong leadership helped forge effective partnerships with municipal and regional politicians through clearly communicating aims and objectives, contributing to the initiative’s successful development; extensive involvement and linkages with the wider community generated a new hub for community-based health and social services.

June 24, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Reorienting the model of care

Peer-delivered HIV/AIDS community testing and prevention services in Lisbon, Portugal

A community centre was opened in Lisbon to provide free, anonymous and peer-delivered HIV testing and prevention services targeted to the MSM community; generating political buy-in took considerable time and was described as a “long and persuasive process” with a need to “repeat the message endless times”; strong grassroots advocacy and persistent lobbying efforts by a patient organization were essential for securing funding; incorporating the target population in the provision of services helped ensure wider community engagement and trust; absence of a formal legislative framework and financial incentives required partnerships with self-motivated health professionals to be sought out.

May 23, 2016 Europe

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Strengthening governance and accountability, Creating an enabling environment

Disparity reduction strategy in Israel’s Clalit Health Services

Creation of a composite disparity score allowed health disparities in Clalit Health Services to be identified, assessed and then targeted for intervention; top-down leadership from senior management within Clalit Health Services was essential for creating the conditions needed for change; locally-designed initiatives provided tailored solutions for achieving targets set by senior management; capitalizing on preexisting strengths and resources minimized the need for costly investments; data-driven performance measures were the backbone of the initiative and provided evidence of the need for intervention, helped incentivize performance improvements and allowed monitoring and evaluation of progress; regular feedback and monitoring fostered a culture of ...