Upon invitation of the Austrian Social Attaché Manuel Aigner, Kai Leichsenring gave a presentation on social innovations in integrating long-term care in selected European countries at the International Business Forum “Innovations in health and social care to create bridges between Central and Southeast Europe”. The Forum, organised by the Centre for Dementia, took place from 1 to 3 June 2023 in Sarjevo and gathered about 50 practitioners, policy makers and researchers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Romania and Italy. The Forum showed that many challenges remain to be addressed both in policy and practice, for instance regarding the deinstitutionalisation process, the governance of (residential) care, the promotion of person-centred care in the community, and workforce shortage. Mutual learning through events such as this Forum, pilot projects and evidence-based policy development are helpful to develop tailor-made solutions for Southeast Europe.
