70 Nr. 1 – 2015 Omsorg Wilco Achterberg, Monique Caljouw and Betina S. Husebø Towards academic nursing home medicine: a Dutch example for Norway? nursing home, elderly, dementia, research, education, municipality, primary health care As the population grows older, comorbidity and func- tional impairment lead to increasing medical, nursing and psychosocial care needs, including good palliative care. Whether these care needs are met at home or in an institution, atending to the complex problems is a professional challenge . This is hampered by the lack of evidence for many treatments, as this population has been understudied and even been excluded from clinical studies in the past. Academic long term care is an urgent need. In this paper, perspectives and developments from the Netherlands are compared to Norwegian activities in this area. We conclude that next to a strong social care sector, building competent medical engagement is important. In addition, research funds and research in- frastructure should be implemented in long term care setings, such as nursing homes, to facilitate good and evidence-based care in the last years of the most vulner- able elderly people. Nursing homes and its population in the Netherlands In 1929, the irst oicial Dutch nursing home (NH), “Het Zonnehuis” at Beekbergen, was organized and built as a hospital for chronically ill older patients. (1) Although there have been a lot of changes since then, a NH is still an institution which provides temporary or permanent multidisciplinary treatment, guidance and support, and nursing care for older patients with long-term, complex health problems, expressed pri- marily in functional disorders and disabilities. (2) All Dutch NHs are funded under the 1968 Exceptional Medical Expenses Act – “Algemene Wet Bijzondere Wilco Achterberg Elderly care physician and professor of institutional care and elderly care medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands. Achterberg is visiting professor at the University of Bergen, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care. w.p.achterberg@lumc.nl Monique Caljouw Senior researcher and scientiic coordinator of the UNC-ZH, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands. Betina S. Husebø Assoc. Prof. MD, Ph.D, head of the Centre for Elderly – and Nursing Home Medicine, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, and Centre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Norway.