Co-Care

New care models are needed for the growing numbers of older persons living with dementia. To facilitate the provision of long-term care for people with dementia in their own homes, the interfaces between different providers of care and assistance services have to be identified and optimised. This is where this project comes in.

Like many other countries, Switzerland, faces the challenge of an aging population and thus a growing demand for in-home care and assistance services. Older people who are living with dementia, in particular, require extensive support to cope with the demands of daily life. Given that 30,400 additional people develop dementia every year in Switzerland, 5,000 of them in the Canton of Bern, it is clear that new care models are urgently needed.

The project is therefore aimed at improving the coordination of care and assistance services within the framework of integrated dementia care. To do so, it seeks to identify inefficiencies in the coordination between the relevant stakeholders and gaps in their communication as well as to collect information about their needs. These findings will be used to develop a document outlining the concept for a prototype care and assistance model, which should help improve the in-home care of persons with dementia. The aim is to support care and assistance personnel in the performance of their duties and to reduce the burden on informal carers (family members and friends).

Little is known internationally and in Switzerland about the effects of improving the coordination of services across all relevant professions on the care of dementia patients. The collaboration among the stakeholders will promote dialogue between in-home care and assistance services and enable Care@Home Bern to assume a pioneering role in the development of cross-sectoral care.

Project objectives

• Summary of the current state of research
• Analysis of existing practices in communication and coordination between care and assistance personnel
• Conduct of an assessment of the needs of informal carers
• Development of a concept document proposing an integrated care and assistance model 2.0
• Development of a follow-up proposal