On February 20, 2025, Act4Health Ukraine held the international conference “Comprehensive Home-Based Care for a Person in Ukraine,” bringing together international experts to discuss the future of home healthcare in the country. The event, live-streamed on social media, showcased selected good practices in home-based medical and social care, with key contributions from Switzerland, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
HAP’s Health for All Project Manager, Dr. Besim Nuri, was invited as an international expert and speaker to share the challenges and solutions the project faced when introducing home care services in Albania in 2021. This invitation follows the exchange of experiences on the integrated socio-healthcare service that the Ukrainian delegation, including representatives from the Act4Health project, Vseturbota, and Ukrainian health authorities, had in Albania in December 2024.
Dr. Nuri explained that the home care model was designed based on a needs assessment of the population and global best practices. In Albania’s approach, home care is primarily a healthcare service, with scheduled visits led by nurses who operate in coordination with the respective family physicians. He highlighted that integrating home care services within the existing primary healthcare system has helped avoid the high costs of parallel healthcare structures. Currently, the model focuses on vulnerable people who have lost their autonomy, including the elderly, people who are homebound as a result of chronic disease, and post-hospitalisation patients.
Among the key challenges, Dr. Nuri emphasized the lack of training for nurses in advanced clinical procedures, which HAP is addressing through continuous education, as well as the need for improved communication between medical and social service providers.
Dr Nuri stressed that the successful implementation of similar models requires early engagement from health and social authorities, along with ongoing and effective collaboration with key stakeholders.
Important insights were also shared by experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Switzerland which addressed the rising need for better nursing competencies, service models that integrate health and social care aspects, and solutions to the growing staffing crisis in the medical care sector.
Key takeaways from the conference included:
- Strengthening local infrastructure: Governments must enhance community-based care services to reduce reliance on institutional care.
- Workforce development: Addressing the shortage of trained professionals through continuous education and fair wages.
- Integrated care models: Combining medical and social services for holistic patient care.
- Financial sustainability: Diversifying funding sources and integrating medical and social care budgets.
- Expanding technology use: Telemedicine and digital data collection to improve efficiency and accessibility.
The conference offered an excellent platform for exchanging experiences in home care models, as countries facing similar challenges can learn from one another’s successes and setbacks.
This exchange of experiences may assist Ukraine in developing a more resilient and efficient home care model suited to its unique circumstances.