A multidisciplinary and multi-method research framework for studying integrated care in Flanders (Belgium)

Abstract

Integrated care is seen as an important new method towards more demand-driven and cost-conscious health systems. In October 2013, a 4-year, multidisciplinary and multi-method research project on integrated care in Flanders (Belgium) will be launched: 'Care Organization: a ReThinking EXpedition in search for Sustainability' (CORTEXS). The €3 million project focuses on long term care. CORTEXS strives to combine high quality innovative basic research with a strategic utilization of the research results. The project is oriented at over 30 stakeholders from seven major groups: care; cure; interest groups; policy; labor market; knowledge and education; regional actors. The research agenda covers three domains: To develop concepts of integrated care that meet the requirements of availability, quality, feasibility, patient empowerment and job quality; To optimize the work processes and design of care organizations in terms of care quality, job quality, and productivity; To identify the conditions that foster (or impede) effective organizational coordination, normative integration and implementation of high quality care concepts. Especially the innovative combination of expertise on organization sciences, social innovation and (integrated) care is expected to lead to substantial knowledge development. The paper presents the CORTEXS research framework, aimed at the joint realization of the basic and strategic research objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]