🇨🇭 Switzerland Ageing, Long-Term Care & Community Support Knowledge Hub

Switzerland has one of Europe’s most decentralised health and long-term care systems and is confronting the long-term implications of population ageing, increasing longevity and rising demand for support with frailty, disability and complex health needs. Its approach combines federal legislation, cantonal responsibility, municipal involvement, compulsory health insurance, public funding, household contributions, Spitex home and community care, nursing homes, healthcare services, family caregiving and a mixed public, private and non-profit provider landscape. The first collection within this Knowledge Hub explores Switzerland Ageing, Long-Term Care & Community Support, with additional specialist collections being introduced as the library expands.

Although Switzerland has distinctive federal structures, cantonal responsibilities, insurance arrangements and local delivery models, many of the pressures it faces are shared internationally. These include financing increasing long-term care needs, enabling people to remain at home for longer, supporting family carers, responding to workforce shortages, maintaining sufficient nursing-home capacity, improving coordination between hospitals, primary care and community services, reducing geographical inequalities, supporting people with dementia and complex needs, strengthening prevention, adapting housing and adopting digital and assistive technologies responsibly. Switzerland therefore offers valuable learning for providers, commissioners, municipalities, cantonal authorities, insurers, health organisations, researchers, policymakers and system leaders across different countries.

This Knowledge Hub has been created to examine the Swiss approach to population ageing, federal and cantonal responsibilities, long-term care financing, compulsory health insurance, assessment and access, Spitex services, ageing at home, nursing homes, family caregiving, dementia, frailty, palliative care, prevention, workforce development, quality and safety, integrated care, hospital transitions, housing, assistive technology, digital health, rights, choice, accountability and long-term system reform. It forms part of the interconnected international knowledge library across Impact Guru and Impact Insights Hub, supporting comparison between care systems and the practical application of international learning.

As the collection develops, articles will explore demographic change, responsibility across the Confederation, cantons and municipalities, long-term care funding, insurance contributions, access and assessment, cantonal variation, Spitex and home care, ageing in place, nursing homes, intermediate care, integrated care, family carers, dementia, frailty, end-of-life care, loneliness, prevention, workforce recruitment and retention, nursing skills, international recruitment, quality and safety, infection prevention, outcome measurement, digital health, assistive technology, community-based care, future financing and long-term capacity planning. The aim is to build a practical, evidence-informed resource that explains how federal policy, cantonal systems, municipalities, insurers, providers, families, funding, workforce, technology and evidence interact to improve outcomes for older people and communities.

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