Extraordinary exchange: collaborative research on seven policy initiatives in complex care
- Period: 2025- 2028
- Status: starts 1 February 2025
We face major challenges in caring for people with intellectual disabilities, especially those with complex care needs. There is a growing staff shortage and financial concerns are increasing. To address this, organisations are developing all kinds of policy initiatives. In the study Buitengewoon kennis-maken, we follow seven different initiatives in seven organisations.
Each organisation is represented by its own initiative. A core team of residents, relatives, carers and others will be formed. This team looks at how the initiative can contribute to future-proof care in a location for people with complex care needs. The team explores, develops and implements the initiative, with support from researchers and experts. Together, the organisations form a learning community. They share and develop knowledge about the content of the initiatives and how we cooperate and organise with each other. This is how we try to find appropriate solutions for complex care.
Summary
To future-proof disability care, various initiatives are currently being developed and implemented to organise care differently, both from national policy and from individual organisations. A significant part of these policy initiatives focuses on socialisation and inclusion in mainstream society as well as on cooperation between formal and informal care. This seems far removed from the current care for people with complex care needs, and from the challenges and bottlenecks experienced at locations where these people reside (Knowledge Platform EVB+, 2023).Moreover, the delusion of the day often rules at these locations and - partly due to staff shortages and turnover and the often challenging cooperation with relatives and other stakeholders - it is challenging enough to get through the day together in one piece. So new policy initiatives often fail to be appropriately and sustainably operationalised for intensive care sites. While it is precisely here that people depend on care from the Long-term care act (WLZ) 24/7 throughout their lives.
In this study, we want to work seriously with seven healthcare organisations on a policy initiative they consider urgent for future-proof care. Each organisation will bring in its own initiative and nominate a location to serve as a signal location. We then start working on this ‘policy initiative for future-proof care’ at site level, with all stakeholders, from all layers of the organisation.
During the research process, we apply the collaborative knowledge we gain during this project to the location - and, if desired, the organisation - where the research takes place. In doing so, we explicitly aim to make collaborative working and learning around each policy initiative a sustainable continuation.
By collaborating and learning in this way across sites, we aim to:
- make the lives of residents, their families and carers more enjoyable and less complicated
- increase understanding with all stakeholders on how to work together appropriately and sustainably
- give form and substance to the selected policy initiatives that do justice to all involved
- learn from each other about the seven jointly designed ways of organising find solutions to current issues in complex care that other care organisations are also facing
- find solutions to current issues in complex care that also affect other care organisations
Researchers
- Gustaaf Bos, project leader, also researcher and co-supervisor
- Eline Roelofsen, co-supervisor and researcher
- Wietske Verhagen, PhD student
- Prof Carlo Leget, PhD supervisor
Partners
- PrismaCello
- AmarantZozijn
- PlurynPhiladelphia
- Amerpoort
(Co-)financing
ZonMw, Kennisprogramma Langdurige Zorg en Ondersteuning 2023 – 2027 (LZO II)Also see
Contact
Gustaaf Bos, g.bos@uvh.nlWe face major challenges in caring for people with intellectual disabilities, especially those with complex care needs. To address this, organisations are developing all kinds of policy initiatives. In the study 'Buitengewoon kennis-maken', we follow seven different initiatives in seven organisations.