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Mobilising community resources and engaging citizens to take control of their own health and welfare is the focus for the next TransForm conference.

Organisers are putting the finishing touches to the 2nd Transnational Conference on Integrated Community Care, which takes place in Turin, Italy, on February 26 and 27.

It follows on from the successful conference ‘Making the Case for Integrated Community Care’ which was held in Hamburg, Germany, last September. The final report for the Hamburg conference is now available. Click here.

The 2nd TransForm conference, ‘Towards People-Driven Care; Engaging and Empowering Individuals, Carers and Families Through Integrated Community Care’ aims to explore the different strategies and approaches available to empower and engage citizens, carers and families in the management of their own health and welfare in the context of their community. It will also look at the role peers and volunteers can play in the empowerment process, and what education and training is needed in the workforce to enable them to deliver integrated community care. Key note speakers include Don Redding, Director of Policy and Partnerships for National Voices, UK, who will present ‘Mobilising the community as an asset: what do individuals, carers and families value in supporting their health and wellbeing?’, and Zoe Ferguson, Carnegie Associate, will discuss how to create caring communities and the benefits. Anne Wojtak, Adjunct Faculty, University of Toronto, will talk about how to prepare the workforce to be a partner in integrated community care.

IFIC’s CEO Dr Nick Goodwin, who was a key note at the first conference, will again provide a review of the evidence for bringing integrated community care forward and help the participants wrap up the key take-home messages.

Delegates will also take part in local site visits to see different community projects where people are at the centre, and individuals are actively engaged in the design and delivery of care. These include:

• Centro Paideia: a support centre which aims to promote the wellbeing of children, from birth to 18, who have a disability, and their families through a multidisciplinary and inclusive approach. A care plan is developed with a coordinator and takes the whole family’s needs into consideration. 
• Progetto Prisma: aims to empower people with disability through an individual and personalized approach. Their focus is on psychological wellbeing, social inclusion and changing the way people with disability are perceived.
• Mirafiori Sud: promotes active and independent ageing among elderly people aged over 65 who live at home. Actions are taken to stimulate active participation within their local community and strengthen the informal neighbourhood networks. The centre acts as a gateway to information, services, organizations and resources in the local community.
• Working Group for Youth Policies: aims to empower and promote well-being and healthy habits among young people aged 14 to 20, by combating social exclusion and involving youth in the life of the community.

TransForm, The Transnational Forum on Integrated Community Care, was set up in 2017 as part of a three-year project. It is funded by Network of European Foundations (NEF) and supported by the International Foundation for Integrated Care and aims to support policy-makers and practitioners to foster an interest in integrated community care.

Integrated Community Care (ICC) seeks to engage and connect people in the design and delivery of care. Its purpose is to enhance the quality of life of individuals and improving population health starting with the needs and resources of the communities. It aims to reduce fragmentation of care by developing new forms of collaborations across diverse local contexts and micro-level settings and establish partnerships between citizens, families, informal carers, professionals and community sectors. Integrated community care implies a shift in traditional thinking based on problem-based, disease-oriented care to a goal and asset-based care.

For more information click here.

The latest issue of IJIC is now ready to read and download.

Covering October to December 2018, there were a total of 14 articles submitted from countries including Kenya, Brazil, Singapore, China, Canada, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Articles included 10 research and theory papers, two on policy, and two integrated care cases.

Among the research and theory articles was a paper titled ‘The Effectiveness of Shared Care in Cancer Survivors—A Systematic Review’ and another examining ‘The Patient Experience of Integrated Care Scale: A Validation Study among Patients with Chronic Conditions Seen in Primary Care’

IFIC’s CEO Dr Nick Goodwin penned this quarter’s editorial titled ‘Tomorrow’s World: Is Digital Health the Disruptive Innovation that will Drive the Adoption of Integrated Care Systems?’

Read articles from the latest volume here.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our IJIC reviewers, editors and authors for their input and support during 2018 to help make the journal such a fantastic resource.

This year we have received more than 100 submissions and published a record number of articles - 63 so far. These have helped to advance our collective understanding of how to integrate care and so improve outcomes for people, families and communities.

Managing Editor Susan Royer said: “We very much appreciate the participation of all our reviewers and contributors who help to make the International Journal of Integrated Care such a success. We look forward to your continued collaboration during 2019 and beyond.
“The team at IJIC would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
“We look forward to seeing you all in San Sebastian, Basque Country, for ICIC19 between April 1 and 3, and to working with you to develop the knowledge base of integrated care.”

Registration has officially opened for IFIC’s International Summer School on Integrated Care 2019 (ISSIC19) that will be hosted at Wolfson College, Oxford, UK between Sunday, June 23 and Friday, June 28.

Book your place now and take advantage of our early bird discount offer giving you 10% discount on the cost of the week-long course if you book before Friday, February 15, 2019.

Led by our CEO, Dr Nick Goodwin, and Senior Fellow, Margrieta Langins ISSIC19 offers an intensive one-week education and training course on the theory and practice of integrated care.

The Summer School is aimed at senior professionals, clinicians, researchers and managers working in the field of integrated care. Developed for those tasked with designing, implementing, leading and/or managing integrated care, the syllabus will include a site visit and presentations from IFIC’s Integrated Care Academy © faculty and a range of international guest speakers.

A key feature of ISSIC19 will be group work focusing on how to design, implement and evaluate integrated care across a range of case studies. This work seeks to enable participants to understand the range of issues and challenges faced when implementing integrated care effectively and support participants with key lessons and strategies to enable this in their own professional lives and local contexts.

ISSIC19 also offers the unique opportunity to foster international networking and knowledge exchange.

Full details of the programme will be announced soon.