The Art of Integrating Care: Theories Revisited

Abstract

Integration of care is high on public health agendas all around the world. The development and implementation of integrative arrangements has been promoted for more or less two decades. Despite this every so often extensive history, there are recognised needs to take research into areas yet poorly explored, which include measures and outcomes of integrated care. On the other hand, existing evidence and knowledge can probably become more ennobled and thereby contribute to a deeper understanding of the compound art of integrating of health care services. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to re-evaluate and synthesise some revisited theories for the facilitation of sustainable integrated care solutions. This exploration shows it is important to have crucial prerequisites for integration in place: both functional and interactional conditions. This appears to be an organic process where the stakeholders go through gradual changes until the optimum level of integration as well as mutualistic interactions are established. It could be argued that refined knowledge could be excerpted from existing research. Then again, this strategy does not exclude actions for new research in poorly explored areas. Both approaches are important for the development of sustainable integrated care.