Abstract
Integrated care has become too much a professionals' concept, in research and theory development, as well as in practice, especially in high-income countries. The current debate on integrated care is dominated by norms and values of professionals, while most of the care is provided by non-professionals. The paradigms of integrated care for people with complex needs need to be reconsidered. It is argued that non-professional care and care by local communities need to be incorporated as a resource and a co-producer of care. It seems fair to assume that the community as such can take a more prominent role in organising and delivering health and long-term care. This implies redefining professional and non-professional responsibilities and boundaries. The boundary between public and private space is losing its significance, as is the distinction between formal and non-formal care. It also requires renegotiating and transforming organisational boundaries. This has consequences for legislation, funding and professional qualifications, as well as for management and governance. It challenges current professional identities as well as identities of service users, their informal carers and citizens. It may also require new types of funding, including non-monetary currencies, time-sharing and social impact bonds. The challenge is that big, that it needs to be addressed at its smallest scale: the citizen in his social network and local community, being co-producer of really integrated care.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.1589 | Journal eISSN: 1568-4156
Language: English
Submitted on: May 29, 2014
Accepted on: May 29, 2014
Published on: Jun 30, 2014
Published by: Igitur publishing
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
© 2014 Henk Nies, published by Igitur publishing
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.