ÉTA TA ČR – Increasing the resilience of specific vulnerable populations when health and social services fail

Project TL04000057 within the 4th public bidding program of ÉTA TA ČR
Project period: 10/2020 – 09/2022
Main project owner: Cerebrum
Other participants: SOLIDITA s.r.o.

The goal of the project is to increase the resilience of select highly vulnerable populations against the negative effects of epidemics and other crisis situations (comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic) in connection with the failure or limitation of care, which caused and continues to cause a significant deterioration in the health status and social frustration of the given population, and the subsequent unnecessary financial and capacity burden on the health and social system. The output of the first stage of the project will be a detailed analysis of the causes and effects of the crisis situation on the target vulnerable groups, focused on the effects on health care, social services, other public services and the overall quality of life. The output of the second stage of the project will be a proposal of practically applicable recommendations to increase the resilience of target groups in the form of a research report and a toolkit.

The project focuses on the target population of people suffering from a wide range of cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other manifestations of geriatric fragility (frailty). These are usually people who have already experienced serious illnesses or injuries, during which they used a wide range of health care (medical emergency services, emergency services, intensive acute inpatient care, standard acute inpatient care and subsequent inpatient care). Subsequently, they use the services of the system of primary or special ambulatory care, dispensary care, spa medical rehabilitation care, social services, etc. In the absence of this care, this target group suffers from a fundamental deterioration of their health and social deprivation. At the same time, it is not relevant whether the lack of care is caused by the objective unavailability of the given care (closure of some facilities or temporary restrictions on their operation), or subjectively perceived barriers on the part of the patients, or of clients (fear of going out, not being in contact with other people, lack of information or inaccurate information on how to behave properly, etc.). These reasons will be analyzed within the project, both on the side of service providers and on the side of users. The project aims to increase the resilience of the target groups. In addition to analyzing and proposing changes to formal systems (provision of health and social services), it will also focus on the role of other public service providers (especially at the level of local government), informal communities and local communities in managing crisis situations (volunteering, neighborhood help, etc.). In addition to experiences from the course of the current Covid-19 disease pandemic in the Czech Republic, examples from abroad, including from others, of comparable scope and duration of crises will be analyzed.

The main financial supporter of the project is the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic, an organizational component of the state established in 2009 by Act No. 130/2002 Coll. on the support of research, experimental development and innovation, which centralizes state support for applied research and development, which until then was fragmented among a large number of providers.

Project outcomes (in Czech only):

• Presentation – Analysis of consequences of preious crises abroad and in the Czech Republic 
• Presentation – Analysis of the causes and effects of care failure from the point of view of health and social service providers
• Presentation – Impact of Covid-19 on the number and structure of the deceased
• Presentation – Analysis of causes and current impacts from the point of view of representatives of the target group
• Presentation – How did we survive covid? Results of a questionnaire survey
• Presentation – Finding communication schemes for a wide group of disadvantaged people
• Presentation – Recommendations and Toolkit for Policy