Fitting health care

The pressure on healthcare is increasing. Health inequalities in society are growing. There is a sharp rise in vulnerable citizens with care needs, while at the same time there is a growing shortage of labour capacity. Organising appropriate health care during the shift from care to health is the greatest challenge we face. Especially because care professionals often still lack the expertise for complex care and interprofessional collaboration. Digitalisation, self-direction and cooperation with relatives are important.

We develop new knowledge and innovations in practice, research and education, together with a strong learning network (in the North of the Netherlands). Our guiding principles are:

Appropriate care for vulnerable citizens is socially systemic in nature
Here, the focus is not only on the care recipient, but on the entire care situation, including the surrounding social system. The emphasis is on self-reliance and mutual support of the individual and on preventing overload of the system. Equal cooperation with informal carers is essential.

Appropriate care is always value-based
Care should be aligned with values, with attention to the needs of patients. The care process should be regularly evaluated, with a focus on improvements based on patient preferences. Measure care outcomes and provide insight into all costs for the patient, including additional costs such as travel expenses and sacrifices made by informal carers.

Appropriate care is always based on careful diagnostics
This includes a thorough analysis of health issues and interventions tailored to those findings.

Within this research theme, we collaborate on specific issues in the Eemsdelta region. Here, but in fact across the entire Northern region in the Netherlands, there are several challenges related to health, care and wellbeing. These challenges mean that more and more older people with poorer health live in the area, while it is increasingly difficult to maintain and ensure access to care facilities. The research focuses both on preventing (worsening) vulnerability and on the organisation of care. Co-innovating with residents, making use of technological solutions and developing learning networks all play an important role in this.