European Integrated Care Horizon 2020 : increase societal participation; reduce care demands and costs in Finnish context

Abstract

This project is ptart of larger European level integrated care project led by HU University of Applied Sciences. In Finland, the integration of social and health care services has taken center stage in both the policy and practice arenas. The needs of many client groups, e.g. mental health client or older people, are many and varied. Poor mental health considerably impairs well-being of the population and has considerable economic consequences like absence from work, early retirement and productive losses. In this, professionals with different training backgrounds co-ordinate their expertise in providing care for their shared clients. It provides a safe nexus for the exchange of knowledge and opinions, as well as a framework for reaching a consensus about appropriate health care delivery for a particular client or client cohort. The client should have an immediate access to integrated care, with a focus on rehabilitation in patient’s social roles. The aim of this project is support societal participation, quality of live and reduce care demand and costs in social and health care client. There is a need to better understand different integrated care approaches for social and health care and guide future implementation of new integrated care models.