The cause for action? Decision-making and priority setting in integrated care. A multidisciplinary approach

Integrated care has caught the attention of health professionals and decision-makers alike as one solution to the necessary reforms and the challenges arising from ageing societies, chronic diseases and resource restrictions. However, the outcomes of integrated care models have neither been properly evaluated and compared nor have the reasons for initiating such models. At both ends of the spectrum, there exist assumptions and opinions based on common sense and few validated data but when and how it really pays to implement integrated care and which are the key indicators and priorities decision-makers want to achieve still remain largely unexplored. This thesis investigated the starting point of integrated care, exploring the indicators most crucial for actors in health and social care services and identifying those which lead up to the initiation and implementation of integrated care. By analysing the reasons why integrated care is chosen and initiated, the thesis highlights underlying mechanisms and decision-making processes of integrated care.