Patients’ expectations versus experiences as a premise to assess intersectoral collaborations in health and social care

PURPOSE: In light of an ongoing randomized controlled trial on stroke patients we report on how patients’ expectations compare with further experiences from the contact with the health and social services and what these results bring into practice of intersectoral collaborations in Portugal. CONTEXT: Budget constraints pressure the health systems to shorten the hospitalization period and encourage further recovery within the community. A discharge from the hospital after a stroke incident is then a moment of truth between patient’s expectations and the system’s performance. METHOD: The study is based on an RCT encompassing patients admitted to a stroke unit of a hospital in Aveiro, Portugal. Patients recruited to the study are questioned on their expectations towards health and social services to be possibly used after the discharge and the care system as a whole. A 6-month follow-up allows for setting together those beliefs with perceptions on actual experiences with the care system. Entities involved in the provision of care and a level of communication and collaboration between them are determined, as seen by a patient. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: These preliminary results origin the first attempt to structure the current state of intersectoral collaborations in health and social care in Portugal. Awareness of services available for stroke patients together with entities which provide them is limited, as limited are patients’ expectations. Above efforts strengthening linkages between sectors attention needs to be driven into promoting a conscious, aware and empowered system user.