Connecting Communities - Housing at the heart of integrated health and social care in Scotland

This report sets out the conclusions of a programme of action research undertaken with Hanover residents, working closely with Hanover staff, directors and Board members.

The aim of the research was to understand what matters most to people and to test out ways to build connectedness and increase wellbeing. 

The report describes the methodology used, and sets out the lessons for the housing, health and care sectors. For example, it recommends that engagement with older people must improve when services are being shaped, and that this should be based on a better understanding of the networks and supports which already exist in communities. The report highlights that housing associations are still a largely untapped resource in many health and care systems, and that to deliver on their potential, they should be fully included in the ongoing integration of health and care.