Integrated care for older people in Europe—latest trends and perceptions

As a researcher and consultant I have coordinated local pilots and European research projects to analyse and improve long-term care for older people by better integrating health and social care systems. One of my conclusions from the wide range of initiatives that have been taken over the past two decades in Europe has been the need to treat long-term care as a system in its own right. Long-term care systems require a discernable identity; specific policies, structures, processes and pathways; and the leadership and resources that can underpin expectations, drive performance and achieve better outcomes for people that are living with (and working for those with) long-term care needs. Progress in developing LTC systems can be identified today in all European countries. Integrated care solutions at the interface between health and social care, and between formal and informal care, have appeared. These have been achieved partly by means of (slow) political reforms, partly as a response to market-oriented governance, and in many cases through pioneering community and civil society initiatives. It will depend on such initiatives, and their ability to convince both citizens and policy-makers, whether new societal approaches to long-term care are created that meet the demands of ageing societies.