DementiaNet facilitates a sustainable transition toward integrated primary dementia care: A long‐term evaluation

Abstract

AbstractINTRODUCTIONCare integration is a promising strategy to achieve sustainable health‐care systems. With DementiaNet, a 2‐year program, we facilitated collaboration between primary health‐care professionals. We studied changes in primary dementia care integration during and after DementiaNet participation.METHODSA longitudinal follow‐up study was performed. Networks started between 2015 and 2020; follow‐up ended in 2021. Quantitative and quantitative data were collected annually to assess quality of care, network collaboration, and number of crisis admissions. Growth modeling was used to identify changes over time.RESULTSThirty‐five primary care networks participated. Network collaboration and quality of care of newly formed networks increased significantly in the first 2 years (respectively, 0.35/year, P < .001; 0.29/year, P < .001) and thereafter stabilized.CONCLUSIONPrimary care networks improved their collaboration and quality of care during DementiaNet participation, which persisted after the program ended. This indicates that DementiaNet facilitated a sustainable transition toward integrated primary dementia care.