Adapting the Quebecois method for assessing implementation to the French National Alzheimer Plan 2008-2012: lessons for gerontological services integration

Indicators of an Integrated Home Care Model Shaped by the Needs of Patients Discharged from the Emergency Department

Introduction:

Developing community care models aims to satisfy the needs of patients’ in-home care comprehensively. This is crucial to decrease adverse events and prevent rehospitalization.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 emergency department patients (EDPs) and 200 general practice patients (GPPs). The modified version of the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule (CANSAS), the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI), the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLCS) were used.

Results:

The study indicated the higher level of unmet needs in EDPs than in the population of GPPs (p = 0.008). The unmet needs increased risk of hospitalization in both groups: OR = 0.28 [95%CI 0.15–0.52] for EDP and OR = 0.33, [95%CI 0.17–0.62] for GPPs groups. We also found a significant relationship between the low levels of needs satisfaction and social-demographic variables, including health profile and the level of health behavior, generalized self-efficacy, health locus of controls, and healthcare measures in general practice.

Discussion and Conclusion:

We suggest that the identified factors should be included into the integrated community care model to advance satisfaction of patients’ needs, especially in patients discharged from an emergency department.

The development of integration in the elderly care sector: a qualitative analysis of national policies and local initiatives in France and Sweden

Due to a significant increase in the complexity of the care demands of older people having multiple care needs, the necessity for integrated care is increasingly acknowledged. Proposing a qualitative approach based on a secondary literature analysis and an empirical survey, this paper explores the integration policy of health and social care for older people having complex needs in two European countries – France and Sweden – where various policy measures aiming at developing and delivering integrated care can be identified: at the national level, through the supportive measures of organisational, institutional and/or professional integration from central government, and at the local level, with the implementation of concrete integrative initiatives. Using a comparative qualitative approach, the authors investigate both of these levels, as well as the interplay between them. They show the importance of this double – local and national – approach of the issue of integration and highlight the continuous negotiation process which underlies the integration activities. Local integration initiatives are in fact constantly reshaped by top-down and bottom-up dynamics which appear to be strongly interconnected.

Consequences of clinical case management for caregivers: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Informal caregivers are deeply involved in the case management process. However, little is known about the consequences of such programs for informal caregivers. This systematic literature review, reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement, addressed the consequences of clinical case management programs, whether positive or negative, for caregivers of frail older persons or persons with dementia.

METHODS

We systematically identified and analyzed published randomized trials and quasi-experimental studies comparing case management programs to usual care, which discussed outcomes concerning caregivers.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies were identified, and 12 were included after quality assessment. Seven identified at least one positive result for caregivers, and no negative effect of case management has been found. Characteristics associated with positive results for caregivers were a high intensity of case management and programs specifically addressed to dementia patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the numerous methodological challenges in the assessment of such complex social interventions, our results show that case management programs can be beneficial for caregivers of dementia patients and that positive results for patients are achieved without increasing caregivers' burden. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.