Social Innovation in Long-Term Care: Lessons from the Italian Case (original) (raw)
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Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research, 2019
Italy is one of the countries with the oldest population in the world. In spite of that fact and the alarming estimates about future demographic trends, long-term care (LTC) policy is still struggling to be acknowledged as a relevant issue in the public debate and political agenda. In sharp contrast with the policy inertia prevailing at the national level, in recent years, many territories have been experimenting with new solutions in the field of LTC, addressing the challenge of building more inclusive local care environments for frail (dependent) elderly people and their families. Building upon this, the current paper aims at dealing with the most recent academic literature on social innovation and the policy discourse elaborated by the European Union to i) develop a "working definition" of social innovation, with specific reference to LTC and elderly care; ii) provide a comparative analysis of a set of selected innovative solutions, which fall between full institutionalization and full family-based care, implemented in two Italian regions, namely, Lombardy and Piedmont; and iii) discuss the factors behind the adoption of socially innovative policy solutions at the local level, thereby shedding light on the key role played by new actors and multistakeholder networks.
Social Innovation in the Provision of Services in Long-term Care
European Journal of Mental Health, 2017
The present study focuses on the potential of extension of social innovation in social services in long-term care. The aim of the paper is to analyse barriers and drivers according to different care regimes: 1. standard care-mix regimes; 2. universal-Nordic; 3. family-based; 4. Central and Eastern European. Applying different qualitative methods (mapping of initiatives, 62 good examples of which 18 were in-depth, expert interviews, focus groups), the paper is going to explore similarities and differences between care regimes with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe to see whether the Central and Eastern European care regime can be considered as a special one or not. It becomes clear from the analysis that there are similarities and differences between the individual care regimes and it is of fundamental importance that these as well as the good practices should be widely known and transferred or adapted to the given care structure. This requires continuous mapping and research.
Socially innovative practices to contrast the isolation of frail elderly people in Italy
2019
Italy is one of the countries with the oldest population in the world. In spite of that fact and the alarming estimates about future demographic trends, long-term care (LTC) policy is still struggling to be acknowledged as a relevant issue in the public debate and political agenda. Against this backdrop and in sharp contrast with the frozen scenario experienced at the national level, since the early 2000s many territories-especially in the North of the country-have been developing several socially innovative pilot projects in the field of LTC, addressing the challenge of building more inclusive local care environments for frail (dependent) elderly people and their families. Among these solutions, it is possible to include those explicitly aiming at trying to combine the advantages of ageing in place with the reduction of the connected risks of isolation, particularly relevant not only in large urban areas, but also in more peripheral territories, where population density is lower and transport services are less developed. Building on this background, the paper has three main goals: 1) to provide a "workable" definition of socially innovative policies and practices in the field of LTC; 2) to analyze a set of selected socially innovative policy solutions meant to enhance the inclusion of the "cared at home" frail elderly people and their families, and implemented over the last decade in two Northern Italian Regions, Piedmont and Lombardy; 3) to investigate and discuss the factors behind the adoption of such policies and practices at the local level. Preliminary findings suggest that to make sense of the novelties observed in the selected cases under review, we ought to focus on the interplay between raising functional pressure and the emergence of local multi-stakeholder networks, with partnership involving local public institutions, with a steering function, and other key players (NGOs, bank foundations, social partners, private companies).
Quality in Ageing and Older Adults
Purpose Social innovation has received increasing attention in recent decades (Agostini et al., 2017). This study aims to consider how the concept has been applied to the issue of ageing and what can be learnt about effective policy responses. Design/methodology/approach The acknowledged lack of understanding generally about the concept makes it timely to undertake a scoping review of the current evidence from social innovation projects associated with older people. A scoping review is considered appropriate where there is a need to “identify and analyse knowledge gaps” (Munn et al., 2018, p. 2). Findings Findings from the scoping review indicate that, as yet, the concept of social innovation is not fully defined. However, it has widespread appeal across a diverse range of disciplines and has the potential to generate innovative policy responses. Originality/value A key argument identified is the need to change the public’s perceptions of ageing and devise public policies that encou...
Editorial: Perspectives and Theories of Social Innovation for Ageing Population
Frontiers in Sociology, 2020
OVERVIEW Gerontology together with its subfields, such as social gerontology (sociology of ageing), geragogy, educational gerontology, political gerontology, environmental gerontology, and financial gerontology, is still a relatively new academic discipline that is currently intensively developing, expanding research fields and combining various theoretical and practical perspectives. The interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and multidisciplinarity of research on ageing and old age, despite its vast thematic, methodological and theoretical diversity, have a common denominator, which is the focus of research work on improving the quality of life of older people (see Fabiś et al., 2015). It is the concern for the components of quality of life such as welfare and well-being as well as focus on learning about phenomena conditioning successful ageing that has become motivators and premises hidden or visible in many texts included in the Research Topic "Perspectives and Theories of Social Innovation for Ageing Population." The Research Topic that we are presenting to our readers is unique not only because of its size but above all because of its novelty and social involvement, visible in the content of individual chapters. The presented collection includes 17 articles prepared in total by 76 authors from the following countries: the United Kingdom, and the United States. Two journals were combined with this Research Topic: "Frontiers in Public Health" and "Frontiers in Sociology." The presented Research Topic contains seven types of articles covering: two community case studies (Brown et al.; Pinzón-Pulido et al.), eight original research articles (Berde; Bjursell; Dovie; Senior; Spinelli et al.; Stypińska et al.; Wanka; Zhang and Yang), two perspective articles (Aoo et al.; Piel and Robra), one hypothesis and theory paper (Toczyski et al.), one policy and practice review (Tziraki-Segal et al.), one methods article (Ramovš et al.), and two book reviews (Cieśla; Leszko). The rationale to start work on this set of texts was the desire to continue and deepen the research analyses of the editors of this set, which concern the development of social innovations for the ageing population as well as changes of public policy on ageing (the ageing policy) (see Klimczuk, 2015, 2017; Tomczyk and Klimczuk, 2015). This Research Topic deals with topics covering issues such as social learning, intergenerational transmission, senior entrepreneurship, creative content creation by older adults, care services, raising the independence of older people in their living environments, dementia challenges, the image of the older generation in local social policies, new trends in qualitative research on old age, strategies for dealing with chronic diseases, the use of digital tools in health education, the silver economy/longevity economy, age-friendly environments, the
2017
This issue of JRC Insights presents results from the analysis of initiatives and case studies on ICT-enabled social innovations promoting social investment in the field of Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA) conducted as part of the JRC-led IESI research, in collaboration with DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. It highlights how over 70% of the initiatives in the field of AHA promote social investment by supporting the modernisation of social protection systems as well as by supporting investment in people throughout their lives. It also reveals that AHA initiatives are frequently characterised by radical innovation potential and higher integration at the service level, often combining funding, administrative and service delivery systems. Finally, the article illustrates how ICTs drive the organizational transformation of service delivery, by reducing overlaps and strengthening integration among service providers. In addition, they increase efficiency and reduce costs by impro...
Innovation in care services for the elderly
The Service Industries Journal, 2006
Ageing and innovation are usually considered to be contradictory phenomena. This article on innovation in care services for the elderly seeks to counter this established view. Taking as its starting point a definition of care services for the elderly that draws on the economics of services, the article advances a simple framework for analysing innovation in terms of 'targets'. These targets, which make it possible to circumvent the usual economic categories (product and process innovation), are as follows: the various forms of assistance and residential provision for the elderly, the (tangible and intangible) technologies deployed, the services provided, the human environment (carers and relatives) and the institutional environment.
Sustainability, 2022
TC and socio-economic deprivation of families are two relevant issues in international debate. The economic or time investment made by families in caregiving has an impact on the socio-economic status of family members in terms of economic means and social inclusion. This study analyzes the practices that are supported by home LTC, examining their characteristics, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, drivers, and barriers, as well as identifying social innovation aspects. The study provides a qualitative interpretative comparison of 22 practices from eight countries, representing the four LTC care models existing in Europe. Cross-studies aid in the development of sustainable policies. The study highlights the differences and similarities between selected practices. The results indicate the effectiveness of integrative and coordination strategies at the macro, meso, and micro levels for the development of supportive policies for family members with burdens of care. Nevertheless, ...