Unraveling care integration: Assessing its dimensions and antecedents in the Italian Health System

In recent decades, consensus has grown on the need to organize health systems around the concept of care integration to better confront the challenges associated with demographic trends and financial sustainability. However, care integration remains an imprecise umbrella term in both the academic and policy arenas. In addition, little substantive knowledge exists on the success factors for integration initiatives. We propose a composite measure of care integration and a conceptual framework suggesting its relationships with three types of antecedents: contextual, cultural, and organizational factors. Our framework was tested using data from the Italian National Health System (NHS). We administered an ad-hoc questionnaire to all Italian local health units (LHUs), with a 60.4% response rate, and used structural equation modeling to assess the relationships between the relevant latent constructs. The results validated our measure of care integration and supported the hypothesized relationships. In particular, integration was found to be fostered by results-oriented institutional settings, a professional culture conducive to inclusiveness and shared goals, and organizational arrangements promoting clear expectations among providers. Thus, integration improves care and mediates the effects of specific operating means on care enhancement.