Integrated Long-Term Care: Defining the Research Questions for Better Quality, Person-Centred Solutions

This webinar is organised by the Integrated Long-Term Care Interest Group, a joint initiative between the International Foundation of Integrated Care (IFIC) and the Global Observatory of Long-term Care (GOLTC)

Date: 12 June 2025 

Time: 12:00 to 13:30 BST  (you can check your local time here.)

Link: Register to join on Zoom

The challenges that Europe is facing as a result of their aging societies are many. Concerns started in the last decade of the previous century and had a main focus on addressing chronicity and its burden in European health systems. However, as we started to develop novel, more integrated person-centred approaches to the provision of health services, we slowly became aware that the boundaries of the problem and its solutions extended well beyond the healthcare field. 

Long-term care (LTC) was one of those areas, outside the healthcare domain, that were less successful in drawing the attention of researchers and policymakers. However, this perception has changed dramatically in the past ten years. The topic is particularly high in the agenda of the European Commission that has funded specific lines of research in LTC. 

This webinar will present how three projects funded by the EC under the call “Integrated care solutions leading to better quality, person-centred long-term care and overcoming territorial inequalities in their provision (HORIZON-CL2-2023-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08)” have interpreted the challenges, defined their research questions and planned the work to be done. The session is intended to be inspirational for those attending the webinar, but it is also seen as an opportunity to contrast with the audience the adequacy of the approaches adopted.

The webinar will cover:  

1. Introduction to the Joined Special Interest Group between the International Foundation of Integrated Care (IFIC) and the Global Observatory of Long-term Care (GLTC) on Integrated Long-Term Care  and welcome (Adelina Comas-Herrera, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE, UK and Edelweiss Aldasoro, IFIC).
   
2. Presentation: Integrated long-term care, a priority for the EC. Carolina Ibáñez Vila, Project Officer, European Research Executive Agency, Unit C1 – Inclusive Society
3. Presentation: Defining the research questions, applying research methods: The LeTsCare project. Barbara Da Roit, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
4. Presentation: Defining the research questions, applying research methods: The BUILD project. Eckhard Nagel, Institute for Medical Management and Health Sciences, University of Bayreuth.
5. Presentation: Defining the research questions, applying research methods: The Laurel project. Albert Alonso, Fundació de RecercaClínic Barcelona-Institutd’InvestigacionsBiomèdiques August Pi iSunyer (IDIBAPS).
6. Discussion moderated by Edelweiss Aldasoro, International Foundation for Integrated Care.