Collaborative partnership in age-friendly cities: two case studies from Quebec, Canada.

This article aims to explain the collaborative partnership conditions and factors that foster implementation effectiveness within the age-friendly cities (AFC) in Quebec (AFC-QC), Canada. Based on a community-building approach that emphasizes collaborative partnership, the AFC-QC implementation process is divided into three steps: (1) social diagnostic of older adults' needs; (2) an action plan based on a logic model; and (3) implementation through collaborations. AFC-QC promotes direct involvement of older adults and seniors' associations at each of the three steps of the implementation process, as well as other stakeholders in the community.

Integrated service delivery networks for seniors: early perceptions of family physicians.

Objective: To document the early perceptions of family physicians regarding integrated service delivery (ISD) networks a few weeks before and 6 months after establishing these networks and to identify obstacles to using case managers.

Design: Cross-sectional survey with two questionnaires mailed 6 months apart.

Setting: Three regional municipalities (one urban and two rural) in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Monitoring the degree of implementation of an integrated delivery system.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to develop a method to measure the implementation of specific components of an Integrated Service Delivery system for the frail elderly. The system includes six mechanisms and tools: (1) coordination of all organizations involved in delivering health and social services, (2) a single entry point, (3) case management, (4) a single assessment tool with a case-mix classification system, (5) an individualized service plan, and (6) a computerized clinical chart.

Method: Focus groups of researchers, clinicians, managers and policy-makers identified quantitative indicators for each component.