Care integration in a vulnerable elderly population in Belgium: an evaluation of the third phase of Protocol 3

KCE Reports 346C (2021)

The Protocol 3 agreement was launched in 2010 to support innovative home care projects for frail elderly people requiring complex care. It has been amended over time, but has remained a pilot project. NIHDI asked KCE to carry out an assessment before deciding whether it should be continued.After interviewing all the stakeholders and recipients, KCE established that, even though the results were satisfactory overall, the amendments to the agreement jeopardised its primary philosophy and risked demotivating the carers involved. It recommended that the care offered in this context should be converted into a generalised integrated care model and incorporated into a stable structural framework. It is certainly the right time to do this, since NIHDI has included care as one of the main objectives of its most recent multiyear budget.