Evaluation of the implementation of integrated primary care for patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in Belgium, Cambodia, and Slovenia

Stojnić, Nataša (author), Martens, Monika (author), Wouters, Edwin (author), Chham, Savina (author), Van Olmen, Josefien (author), Danhieux, Katrien (author), Ružić Gorenjec, Nina (author), Ir, Por (author), Poplas-Susič, Tonka (author), Klemenc-Ketiš, Zalika (author)

Introduction: Integrated care of chronic patients improves quality of their management, but there is scarce evidence of its implementation in different healthcare settings. With this article, we wanted to determine the level of integrated care implementation in the management of T2D (diabetes) and HT (hypertension) in three different settings: Belgium, Slovenia, and Cambodia. Methods: This was an observational study with integrated approach. It was conducted in primary health care organisations in three countries. In each primary health care organisation, we aimed to include primary care workers that worked with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and hypertension (HT) patients. Data was collected with the Integrated Care Package (ICP) grid (consisting of six elements: identification, treatment, health education, self-management, caregiver collaboration, and care organisation). Results: ICP is almost completely implemented without major differences within Slovenia. There is a considerable variability across practice types in Belgium. Implementation is constrained by health system resources in Cambodia. Some elements, especially identification, are better implemented then others, across health systems. Conclusion: Countries can enhance integrated care for chronic diseases by implementing central policies, standardized protocols, and local adaptation, addressing resource constraints, promoting systematic screening and health education, and providing training for healthcare workers, tailored to community needs, to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.

• Language: English
• Keywords: integrated care package, primary care, cross country comparison, diabetes, hypertension
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 24, iss. 2, art. 27
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182410
• UDC: 616.379
• ISSN on article: 1568-4156
• DOI: 10.5334/ijic.7664
• COBISS.SI-ID: 203708163
• Publication date in RUL: 11.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of integrated care
• Publisher: Ubiquity Press
• ISSN: 1568-4156
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517928217

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: arterijska hipertenzija, zdravstvena nega, primerjave, sladkorna bolezen, tip 2, Belgija, Kambodža, Slovenija

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: H2020
• Project number: 825432
• Name: SCale Up an integrated care package for diaBetes and hYpertension for vulnerable people in Cambodia, Slovenia and Belgium
• Acronym: SCUBY