Background
Integrated health and social care services typically comprise a variety of professionals, including nursing, allied health and social care roles, practising in collaborative and aligned inter and intra-organisational structures. In England, the Nursing Associate is a comparatively new, interdisciplinary role designed to bridge the gap between support workers and registered nurses. Nursing Associates are trained generically to work across all fields of healthcare, making the position an ideal addition to integrated care teams. The Integrated Placement Experience Project sought to develop an integrated health and social care practice learning experience for student Nursing Associates, developing a new understanding of:
(1) the requirements and experiences of healthcare learners within integrated care-based placements,
(2) the operational requirements of achieving integrated placement experiences,
(3) how use of integrated care settings can enhance graduate prospects of working within these environments following qualification.

Approach
The project was co-produced through an event involving stakeholders from local health and social care providers, services users and academics, leading to development and confirmation of the project methodology. In addition, the provider of the placement experience, an integrated discharge team, was involved throughout the delivery of the project, to ensure congruence and alignment between the project’s objectives, service requirements, and the needs of the local community. A qualitative design was used to evaluate current practices of the integrated discharge team, explore the operationalisation of integrated care placements, undertake focus groups (n=4) with student Nursing Associates to ascertain their understanding of integrated care and completion of interviews with qualified staff within the integrated discharge team to appraise the impact of placing Nursing Associate learners within an integrated placement setting.

Results
This presentation will detail the key findings of operationalising the Integrated Placement Experience Project and the experiences of student Nursing Associates and clinicians within the integrated discharge team of the provision of integrated care placements for pre-qualification healthcare learners. The qualitative findings indicated significant value for both learners and staff of practice learning experiences within integrated care settings, including increased understanding of care coordination and inter-organisational collaboration, alignment of provision across geographical regions and different health and social care services, and opportunities for holistic and agile person-centred care. Recommendations for achieving integrated care placements as well as recognition of barriers to their implementation are also identified, including requirements for longitudinal placement planning, upskilling and increasing understanding of the remit of integrated care providers within Integrated Care Systems and overcoming frequent restructuring to integrated care teams in light of shifting national priorities in England.

Implications
The project demonstrates how integrated care placements expand capacity for healthcare learners and enhance system-wide understanding of professional practice across disciplines. The findings outline both the benefits and operational challenges of Integrated Placement Experiences, offering practical guidance to strengthen future workforce development and graduate readiness in integrated care—within England and internationally.

Background:
The growth of Ontario’s aging population continues to outpace the current workforce’s ability to meet their increasingly complex health and social needs. Health systems face critical shortages of trained clinicians with the requisite specialized geriatric expertise, which is compounded by both inconsistent gerontological and geriatric education across health disciplines, and limited access to suitable continuing professional development (CPD). In collaboration with the Regional Geriatric Programs of Ontario and Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario, a province-wide Training Needs Assessment (TNA) was completed to guide workforce planning and quality improvement, including understanding current clinical competencies, and identification of learning and skills development needs and priorities among clinicians and providers who care for older adults.

Approach:
Two provincial online surveys were conducted between November 2021 and April 2022, targeting: (1) Clinicians/health care providers working in Specialized Geriatric Services (SGS); and (2) Non-SGS healthcare providers who regularly care for older adults in other settings.

The surveys collected data on: demographics and practice characteristics; perceived competence against the provincial Interprofessional Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (iCGA) Competency Framework; barriers and facilitators to shared decision-making and goal-setting; and colleagues’ geriatric competence.

Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively in SPSS, and qualitative data was thematically analyzed using inductive content analysis. The study was reviewed by the Ontario Tech University Research Ethics Board (File #16336).

Results:
A total of 203 clinicians met inclusion criteria (SGS n=107; non-SGS n=96). Respondents represented every health region and sector of Ontario, and a broad range of professions including nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, social work, pharmacy, and physiotherapy.

Across all domains, SGS clinicians scored higher on the iCGA competencies (MEAN 3.9/5) than non-SGS providers (MEAN 3.6/5). Highest-rated competencies included compassionate, person-centred care and interprofessional collaboration; lowest-rated areas related to ethical decision-making, risk assessment for elder abuse, and mediating family conflict.

Common knowledge gaps spanned delirium recognition, geriatric pharmacology, and mental-health and addictions care for older adults. Skill gaps were noted in communication (particularly with language barriers), supportive and shared decision-making, and management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

Both groups expressed a strong desire for experiential learning—such as mentorships or fellowships with experienced clinicians—to build skills. Non-SGS clinicians prioritized system navigation, consent and capacity law, and documentation standards; SGS clinicians emphasized opportunities for interprofessional teamwork, research collaboration, and leadership skill-building.

Overall, participants reported high motivation for professional growth (mean 3.8/5 for CPD engagement) but found limited opportunities to access geriatric-specific training. Respondents endorsed expanding cross-sector learning networks to strengthen shared competencies in person-centred, interprofessional, and team-based care.

Implications:
Findings underscore a pressing need for coordinated, provincial strategies to build geriatric care capacity across all sectors. Embedding the iCGA Competency Framework and resources into ongoing CPD can create a common language for integrated. Workforce investments should prioritize mentorship, cross-training, and collaborative learning models that bridge SGS and non-SGS settings, to foster a skilled, confident workforce capable of delivering equitable care across the system.

This assessment offers a replicable model for other jurisdictions/systems seeking to align competency frameworks with integrated-care workforce planning and continuous professional development.

Background
The sustainability of Moldova’s Integrated Community Care (ICC) model—piloted by the Healthy Life Project (HLP)—depends on collaborative workforce capable of addressing chronic and social vulnerabilities. Health and social care systems continue to face structural challenges, workforce shortages, and high outbound migration. Despite the recognized need for community care, many primary health care (PHC) providers fail to differentiate the role of community nursing in outreach work to prevent disease and promote health, including with at-risk groups (Stanescu 2019). Conversely, only 40% of community social assistants have formal or ongoing professional training in social work (MLSP 2023). Fragmentation within and between sectors and limited interprofessional education further hinder coordination and efficiency.
Approach
The HLP strengthened interprofessional education as a key mechanism for implementing the ICC model. Training focused on building competencies in integrated care (Stein 2016, 2021) among community nurses and social workers enhancing practical abilities in case management, teamwork, and communication. The concept of health and wellbeing across the life course, together with an understanding of social determinants of health and behavioral risk factors guided curriculum design.
Capacity-building followed two complementary lines. First - sectoral to improve application of national protocols and strengthen the underdeveloped community nurse role, especially in outreach and early detection. Second - on multidisciplinary health and social collaboration, enabling joint assessments, interventions, case management, and link with LPAs and civil society.
The cascade training was applied by national network of trainers in Integrated Care and community nursing. It combined international and national expertise. Training topics, based on analytical work in PHC and social sectors and lessons from intersectoral cooperation, were consulted with practitioners.
To ensure sustainability, ICC principles were embedded in initial and continuous professional education for health and social workers.
Results
Interprofessional learning improved communication, information sharing, and task distribution within community teams, educing professional strain and enhancing service efficiency. Collaboration between sectors improved understanding of roles, use of common tools, and engagement with community resources.
Between 2019 and 2025 years, national Integrated Care facilitators trained 112 multidisciplinary teams from 35 districts, 2 municipalities and 75 communities, involving over 1,581 decision makers and practitioners from LPA, PH, PHC, social assistance, NGOs. Practical training modules on improving abilities for prevention and community-based chronic reached 2,630 professionals from 260 PHC facilities.
Drawing from HLP experience, the community nursing training modules have been institutionalized at the University of Medicine and are to be included at the medical (nursing) college. Efforts are currently made to include integrated care principles in the bachelor’s and master’s programs in four main universities teaching social work.

Conclusion
Sustained investment in interprofessional education underlines the importance of multidisciplinary approach as a base for maintaining quality, continuity, and equity of care in a resource-constrained context. Embedding ICC competencies into training programs marks a significant transition from project-based interventions to a system-wide approach, ensuring that collaboration becomes a permanent component of workforce development.

Title: The Erasmus Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) approach to Collaborative Learning for Sustainable and Integrated Health Care.
Background
The Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is a collaborative European initiative that brings together students and professionals from multiple higher education institutions to engage in shared learning, exploration, and debate on global challenges.
Achieving meaningful progress in integrated care requires not only structural reform but also a shared commitment to core values, effective collaboration, and the continuous development of a skilled and adaptable workforce. The Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) has generated valuable outcomes and insights, highlighting its impact on fostering cross-sectoral cooperation, intercultural understanding, the meaningful use of digital technologies and professional growth,
Aims and Objectives
The main aims of the BIP were to strengthen community resilience through alliances between universities, as well as enhance the competence, confidence, and adaptability of the future integrated care workforce through achieving core competencies for integrated care i.e. patient advocacy, communication, interdisciplinary working, people-centred care, and continuous learning.

Approach
The BIP programmes offered a unique opportunity for students from diverse undergraduate disciplines, including nursing, to foster interprofessional learning and international collaboration through a blended educational model, combining a virtual component, and an intensive in-person learning week. Participants involved in the 3 BIP projects explored various themes, including “Start locally, debate globally”, BIP Programme in Social Dominance conducted in Ho Ghent university, Belgium, “Sustainability: Act locally, Impact Globally” conducted in Instituto Politecnico De Lisboa, Portugal and “Industrial Past, Sustainable Future: Pathway to a Greener Tomorrow.” conducted in VSB- Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
By bringing together students, and professionals from various disciplines across Europe, the BIP Erasmus initiative sought to reflect the ethos of integrated care itself: partnership, inclusivity, and shared responsibility for transformation.
Results
The BIP Erasmus Project demonstrated that immersive, intercultural, and multidisciplinary learning experiences can effectively foster the knowledge, attitudes, and skills required for integrated care practice. Students reported enhanced understanding of intercultural communication, improved confidence in interprofessional collaboration, and increased awareness of the social determinants of health. Evaluation data also highlighted the value of intercultural collaboration in building empathy, adaptability, and leadership capabilities within the future workforce as well as exploring how integrated practices can contribute to environmental sustainability, aligning healthcare delivery with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for good health, well-being, and a greener future.
Implications
The BIP’s highlight the importance of embedding community engagement, interprofessional education, the meaningful use of digital technologies and intercultural collaboration within curricula to ensure sustainable, equitable, and integrated care delivery, from a future-ready workforce. These programmes also demonstrate how shared values and interprofessional education can drive a common vision for integrated care across Europe, as well as highlighting strategies for engaging communities and building new alliances through experiential learning. The BIP model offers a framework for cultivating a workforce that is value-driven, adaptable, and equipped for collaborative practice. Future iterations aim to expand partnerships, as well as continued community participation, across participating European universities.