Case definition for health and social care services integrated initiatives Siu Mee Cheng Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, and Cristina Catallo Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a case definition of integrated health and social services initiatives that serve older adults, and will provide characteristics to aid in the identification of such initiatives. The case definition is intended to ease the identification of integrated health and social care initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – A limited search was undertaken of both scientific and gray literature that documented and/or examined integrated health and social services initiatives. In addition, literature on well-documented and generally accepted integrated healthcare and social services models that reflect collaborations from healthcare and social services organizations that support older adults was also used to develop the case definition. Findings – The case definition is as follows: healthcare organizations from across the continuum of care working together with social services organizations, so that services are complementary and coordinated in a seamless and unified system, with care continuity for the patient/client in order to achieve desired health outcomes within a holistic perspective; the initiatives comprise at least one healthcare organization and one social care organization; and these initiatives possess 18 characteristics, grouped under 9 themes: patient care approach; program goals; measurement; service and care quality; accountability and responsibility; information sharing; culture; leadership; and staff and professional interaction. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of this study is that the characteristics are based on a limited literature search. The quality of some of the literature both gray and published was not definitive: information on how they undertook the literature search was not provided; exclusion and inclusion criteria were not included; and there was insufficient detail on the design of the studies included. Furthermore, the literature reviews are based on integrated initiatives that target both seniors and non-senior’s based services. The cross-section of initiatives studied is also different in scale and type, and these differences were not explored. Practical implications – The case definition is a useful tool in aiding to further the understanding of integrated health and social care initiatives. The number of definitions that exist for integrated health and social care initiatives can make it confusing to clearly understand this field and topic. The characteristics identified can assist in providing greater clarity and understanding on health and social care integration. Originality/value – This study provides greater coherence in the literature on health and social care integration. It aids in better framing the phenomenon of healthcare and social services integration, thereby enhancing understanding. Finally, the study provides a very useful and concrete list of identifying characteristics, to aid in identifying integrated health and social care initiatives that serve older adults. Keywords Integrated health and social care, Case definition, Senior’s health, Services delivery Paper type Research paper Introduction Canada’s healthcare system is failing vulnerable and high-risk patients, including those over the age of 65 with more than one chronic disease. This patient population group accounts for 40 percent of all healthcare use (Canadian Medical Association, 2013; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2014; Avery, 2017). A study by Rosella et al. (2014) showed that over 52 percent of the top 5 percent of Ontario healthcare users were 65 and older. Unfortunately, this patient group may also experience poorer social determinants of health, including experiencing lower income, social isolation and housing security, to name a few (Rosella et al., 2014; Statistics Canada, 2015; Miller Chernier, 2002). Like many western Journal of Integrated Care Vol. 27 No. 4, 2019 pp. 264-275 © Emerald Publishing Limited 1476-9018 DOI 10.1108/JICA-09-2018-0057 Received 5 September 2018 Revised 14 November 2018 Accepted 15 March 2019 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1476-9018.htm 264 JICA 27,4