A review of the impact of an integrated health and social care system on people with dementia

As England’s demographic changes with an increasing ageing population so does the burden of long-term diseases such as dementia. Our current care system is no longer appropriate to deal with these changes. An integrated system, which can provide streamline care for both the health and social care needs is required. It is widely acknowledged that an integrated system can bring a number of advantages, which can be fundamental to its success. For that reason the Government have introduced a number of policies and related documents over the past two decades on developing an integrated health and social care service. However, a strong evidence-base demonstrating the positive impacts of an integrated care system is lacking, particularly in the case for older people with dementia.
Aim: To evaluate the impact of integrated health and social care policy and its related documents on people with dementia.
Objectives: To gain an understanding of integrated care policies, their related documents and their recorded impact on people with dementia.
Method: Systematic literature review.
Findings: There is little, if any evidence on the impact of integrated care on people with dementia.