The meaning of continuity of care - Elderly people´s perspective

Swedish healthcare is ranked low in international comparisons according to continuity of care (CoC) and has a high degree of specialization, with care divided into different levels and across different areas of responsibility and principals.

This creates a risk of lack of continuity, for example in information transfer and treatment when patients are discharged from hospital to home.

The lack of continuity creates great challenges for healthcare professionals, but also – more importantly – for those patients who, due to age or illness, need care resources and nursing. Although research on the elderly and continuity is common, it has usually taken a health and medical care perspective.

However, research that consider the soft values, such as the elderly´s own perspective on what continuity means for them, is scarcer.

The planned review aims to form the basis for new research which can contribute with guidance in best practices for continuity of care from the perspective of elderly people with complex care needs.