Carevolution: publicación en la Revista IJIC

Carevolution, publicado en la IJIC – “International Journal of Integrated Care”

Introduction: Demographic change is a globally recognized societal challenge. The demand for health and care services will grow, due to ageing of population and increase of chronic conditions; however currently there are not sustainable models for health and care delivery. In this sense, integrated care is increasingly accepted as a precondition to the long-term sustainability of health and care systems.  An enabler that will support the process of transformation of health and care delivery towards integrated care is the workforce. Carevolution European project focuses on the side and perspective of professionals that work at Home Care Service, the homecare workers.

Short description of practice change implemented: Carevolution project enhances the current vocational training for homecare workers, allowing them to be part of a network that cares for elderly people with chronic diseases at home within integrated care systems and models. Moreover Carevolution project transforms a profession to adequate it to the new systems and models for delivering care.

Aim and theory of change: Carevolution project aims at the development of a new training curricula and learning materials in order to train homecare workers in new competences for the integrated care of elderly people with chronic conditions.

Home care workers are the closest professional in contact with the elderly. It is for that reason that it is expected they might support the process of implementation of integrated care systems and models, delivering new higher added value tasks. Currently they cannot complete these tasks, because they do not have the necessary competences to complete them. Existing professional qualification frameworks for homecare workers do not contemplate which potential roles homecare workers might play within integrated care systems and models, hindering thus any kind of training efforts of such workforce on the skills necessary for the adoption of such roles.

Targeted population: Targeted population of Carevolution project includes homecare workers and Vocational and Education Training Institutions training home care workers.

Stakeholders:

• EU & National Professional Qualification bodies
• Health & social/community services
• Home care providers
• Home cared elderly people and family caregivers

Timeline: Carevolution project duration is from the 1st of September of 2015 to the 31st of August of 2017.

Innovation: The innovation of Carevolution project lies in defining the role and competences for homecare workers within integrated care systems and models and developing a new General Training Curricula and Learning Materials to train these professional on these competences.