ABSTRACT

Epidemiological changes resulting from populational aging have led to changes in global health systems. Since 1990, discussions on Intermediate Care (IC) have emerged, with a view to reducing hospitalizations, improving care coordination, and stimulating public care policies close to the territory. This work aims to present and analyze the scientific literature on CI, emphasizing services from Community Hospitals. An integrative review was carried out, combining the descriptors “Intermediate Care”, “Community Hospitals”, “Intermediate Care Facilities”, “Long-Term Care”, “Hospitals Chronic Disease”, and “Rehabilitation Services”, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, in the Regional Portal of Virtual Health Library, PubMed and Digital Library of Thesis and Dissertations bases. After the search and eligibility process, 30 documents were included for qualitative synthesis, coming from: The United Kingdom, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Australia and Italy. Results point to the efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency of ICs, with good evaluations by professionals and users. ICs, as a strategy to strengthen Primary Health Care, reduce hospital admissions, favor patients’ functional independence and return to the community, are presented as a health innovation and promising bet. However, there are gaps in the literature that lead to more studies on the topic, with a view to supporting decision making.

KEYWORDS
Aging; Intermediate care facilities; Hospitals, community; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation services