Navigating a Decade of Integrated Care Research in the International Journal of Integrated Care: How Far Have We Come?

Abstract

Introduction: The scope of integrated care has evolved and broadened the past decades from specialist pathways to incorporate a more holistic approach. To identify such trends in evidence and knowledge, we analysed published papers in the International Journal of Integrated Care over a 10-year period.

Methods: From an initial set of 5.075 IJIC papers (2012-2022), 508 articles were selected after excluding several categories such as poster and conference abstracts. As no existing theoretical framework seemed to fit our study aim, we chose to focus specifically on two important areas in integrated care that are known for development; impact measurement and co-production in research.

Results: There was an overall growth of published papers in the journal. The papers predominantly feature contributions from Western regions, including Europe, the Western Pacific and the Americas. Results regarding impact measurement showed no clear overarching pattern over time. Engaging the target population as co-producers in the studies is still low (<5%).

Conclusions: Although the number of papers increased pointing towards more attention for integrated care, we could not identify any significant growth or advancement in the two crucial areas of co-production and impact measurement in integrated care research. These gaps need to be addressed accordingly in both practice and research.