For the first time, our society is simultaneously confronted with an ageing population and increasing life expectancy. This has a major impact on the number of people in society with long-term care needs. In the Netherlands, the number of people requiring nursing home care is expected to double between 2019 and 2040. This has a major impact on elderly care, which is already facing significant challenges: increased demand for personal and community-based care, rising co-morbidity among residents and immense labour shortages. Demographic changes are raising these challenges to an alarming level. Particularly in nursing homes, the care needs of residents will only increase in the future, partly because people are living at home for longer. The ageing of society is mainly taking place outside the Randstad conurbation. Statistics Netherlands forecasts show that the challenges will be greatest in the south-east of the Netherlands.
In order to continue to provide the necessary care in this region, drastic changes in the form of care provision are therefore necessary. These developments mean that we must organise care and support for the elderly differently. In the Netherlands, various forms of housing are emerging in which care for the elderly with long-term care needs is being organised in an innovative way. Think of almshouses, collective or small-scale housing, intergenerational housing and vital communities. Many care organisations in the southeast of the Netherlands are playing a leading role in experimenting with innovative forms of housing as a response to the challenges described above (e.g. the citizens' initiative Zorgcoöperatie Hoogeloon). Examples include the Powered by Proteion concept, in which care entrepreneurs develop small-scale locations in the neighbourhood, or GeWoon Thuis (Just at Home) by De Zorggroep. The community as a unique organisational form seems promising here. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how these innovative residential care communities work and what kind of influence they have on those involved (the impact on residents, relatives, employees and the community as a whole, among other things, is unknown).
Based on an extensive literature study and various case studies, the project applied for here will develop criteria and provide insights into preconditions for successful residential care communities in the southeast of the Netherlands.
