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 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.
Find out more information here