FP7 Collab - INTERLINKS : Health Systems and long-term care for older people in Europe - Modelling the INTERfaces and LINKS between prevention, quality of services and informal care

HSMC are a partner in a European consortium undertaking the three-year INTERLINKS research project. The consortium activities, led by the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (Austria), are funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme.

INTERLINKS explores long-term care systems for older people from a European perspective. The research has a focus on developing knowledge about links between health and social care services, quality assurance systems and mechanisms, prevention and rehabilitation services and informal care. HSMC lead on 'governance and finance' issues.

INTERLINKS is creating analytical tools to enable Member States and other countries to explore how different aspects of long-term care can be managed to enhance structures, processes and outcomes (see http://interlinks.euro.centre.org/project). These contributions are particularly timely given current UK discussions around reform of long-term care in the context of rapidity of demographic change and development of new medical technologies.