PCA - Primary Care Academy 2024-2029

Problem statement

Strengthening primary care is crucial for building a resilient and person-centred system that promotes integrated care in the care and welfare sector. Primary care in Flanders consists of a wide range of providers, professionals and services, both care and welfare actors. Current policy actors at the community and federal level aim to facilitate and integrate the cooperation between all these actors in order to increase the effectiveness and accessibility of primary care. Integrated care is particularly important for groups with complex care needs and in vulnerable situations.

Thanks to the support of the Dr Daniël De Coninck Fund, administered by the King Baudouin Foundation, the Academy for Primary Care was established in 2019. After a first successful 4-yearterm, we will start a second 5-year term in 2024 during which we will further explore some topics relevant for a stronger first line.

Research question

The Primary Care Academy (PCA) focuses on the following four research themes in this second term:

• Implementation of innovations from the first term, studying how innovations can best be implemented in this first line (1st line of research: I-site - Investigating Sustainable Implementation for Transforming Primary Care with Value- Driven Innovations)
• Explore prevention strategies for mental health problems in young people and how primary care can contribute to this. (2nd line of research PROMENT - Enabling Mental Health and Wellbeing)
• Focusing on the experiences of individuals who find it more difficult to access primary care, their interaction with formal and informal practices, and how those practices in collaboration with primary care can improve access (3rd line of research: ACCES-UP - Brokering and advocating access to Primary Care for Underserved Populations: the role of informal and formal actors)
• Develop a set of generic competences specific to primary care workers and how education can contribute to stronger primary care. (4th line of research: PRIMID - Investigating Primary Care Core Competencies and Defining a Primary Care Professional Identity)

Research approach

KdG will mainly be active in the PROMENT (Enabling Mental Health and Wellbeing) line of research within the Academy of Primary Care. PROMENT is about improving the mental well-being of vulnerable young people. We mainly focus on these problems in less well-off neighbourhoods in the major cities of Brussels and Antwerp. By means of participatory research with the young people themselves, and with professional and non-professional key figures in their lives, we first want to map out the needs of these young people, and study the influencing factors, in order to arrive at the co-creation of sustainable solutions within a safe and supportive environment.

Expected output

Based on academic and practice-based research, PCA develops optimal roadmaps and hands-on toolkits for primary care policy, practice and education. These strategies and tools facilitate the implementation of proactive and person-centred primary care for the population with moderately complex problems. PCA also provides substantial input into innovative training strategies at undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as in continuing education for health and social care professions. PCA works with policymakers from the outset.

Researchers

• maja.lopezhartmann@kdg.be
• kathleen.vanroyen@kdg.be
• rebecca.thys@kdg.be