Municipal health and social care plays a central role in Sweden’s ongoing transition towards accessible, person-centred care. At the same time, it relies heavily on cooperation with both primary and specialist healthcare. In a new research project, researchers at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg will analyse how governance and administration function in this collaborative setting.
The project is led by Mikael Cäker, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, and is based at the Centre for Health Governance.
What is the project about?
“The project focuses on how municipalities govern their health and social care services – for example, care provided in residential facilities or in individuals’ homes. This care often requires support from other medical experts and services that are not available within the municipal system. The concept of person‑centred and integrated care includes coordinating efforts across different actors to ensure that services are organised around the needs of the individual.”
“One goal of such care is to reduce unnecessary hospital visits and to ensure that all healthcare professionals involved in a patient’s care have a shared understanding of what has been done and what needs to happen next. As a result, governance of municipal services is closely linked to how other actors work, their resources, and their administrative routines.”
Why is municipal care central to this transition?
“Because it constitutes a large and growing part of the care system and is expected to take on even more responsibility within a person‑centred model. Municipal services are often geographically and relationally close to the individual, making them a natural and continuous point of contact.”
What are the biggest challenges in collaboration between municipal and regional healthcare?
“When care is to be organised around the individual, a shared understanding of responsibilities across providers becomes critical. Each actor is specialised in different areas. The challenge is ensuring that all parties take full responsibility for their tasks while also cooperating effectively for the benefit of the individual. Information sharing, communication, and aligned working methods can be difficult both within and between organisations.”
How will you study this interplay?
“We start by mapping how municipalities govern their health and social care systems at various levels. We then focus on critical situations where services are particularly dependent on other actors – especially when changes in one part of the care system affect others. In the next phase, we will analyse how these actors govern and respond in such situations.”
How will the results contribute to better elderly care and more integrated healthcare?
“Many development initiatives are currently underway in the healthcare system that influence how different providers can organise and govern their operations. Our project will contribute by highlighting how such changes affect opportunities for more effective and coordinated care practices.”
