Development of planning of the integrated care for older people in China: a theory of change approach.

backgroundIntegrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) with a global perspective, faces varying degrees of barriers to implementation, particularly in middle-and low-income countries. Therefore, as with other new public service interventions, we draw on established integrated care interventions to design a Theory of Change (ToC) model for ICOPE, and to propose methods and pathways for adapting community-based integrated care models for older people (OP) to specific contexts, thereby updating and enhancing the implementation of ICOPE.

methodsAn initial ToC for the ICOPE was drafted based on the WHO guidelines and published literature, and synthesizing the results of semi-structured interviews, group discussions. A total of 36 healthcare stakeholder experts in geriatric nursing, geriatric care and chronic disease management, rehabilitation and quality of life, and psychiatric-mental health were recruited to participate in a 5-stage ToC group workshop conducted consecutively. Each workshop has 2-3 facilitators, and lasts from 60 to 120 min. In multiple workshops, the experts discussed the causal pathway, the interventions needed to activate it, the underlying principles and assumptions, evaluated and refined them, and finally reached consensus.

resultsThe ToC design has improved the ICOPE program, identifying the resources, long-term outcomes, and impacts required for the implementation of ICOPE in a specific setting, and clarifying the specific components of the integrated care interventions, such as materials, procedures, and intervention providers. The localized, OP-centred model of integrated home care developed in our study may contribute to healthy ageing through four potential long-term outcomes: (1) reduction of unnecessary hospitalizations and increased utilization of referral services, (2) enhancement of self-care capacity to prevent, reverse, or delay the decline of intrinsic capacity in OP, (3) improvement of the quality of life of OP living at home, and (4) reduction of caregiving burdens and improvement in the level of caregiving.

conclusionThe ToC is effective in identifying key characteristics of resources, interventions, impact, and outcomes of integrated care for OP. Our ICOPE program has been strengthened by ToC, which forms an integrated care model for assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation, adapted to a specific setting, and provides guidance for other areas in similar settings.