Concerning healthcare directly, and other questions/needs of the client/patient. Examples are the interconnection between healthcare and quality of life, between healthcare and daily activities, between well-being, healthcare, and habitation, and the interconnection between the offered (quality of) healthcare and health outcomes, - or lack thereof.
Our pronouncements: "as little healthcare as possible, as much self-management as possible, support from relatives and volunteers and, where critically necessary, professional care". In order to achieve this goal, better collaboration between professionals and care institutions and between professionals, informal carers, and volunteers is vital. Chain collaboration between organisations and sectors and improvement of logistics and efficiency are key concepts, as well as an emphasis on the vulnerable members of society.
'Integrated Care' is in coherence with the expertise and mission of the involved professors (community care, integrated care for the elderly, primary healthcare, transitions in care and perinatal care and obstetrics). This theme focuses on care for the elderly (including people with dementia) as well as care near to home and care concerning pregnancy and birth, especially for vulnerable groups. An important point of focus is the (changing) role of healthcare professionals and motivating and inspiring them.
Recently, there has been a lot of focus on regional initiatives. The emphasis is on offering care and support near home and the modernisation of primary healthcare, optimisation of chain healthcare, and the development of integrated care, which is necessary for this goal. The importance of Dutch governmental policy attached to the development of assisted living once additionally underlines the topicality and relevance of this theme.
The research programme 'Integrated Care' has four main themes:
- (Support for) people with dementia
- Integrated care for the elderly
- District-based care
- Perinatal Care & Obstetrics
Working in elderly care is a unifying theme of three themes within the research programme.