Tuesday 10 March 2026 | 11:00-12:00
Stream: Leading
Session format: Workshop
Chairs:
Inge Kristensen Danish Society for Patient Safety; Denmark
Johnny Advocaat Oslo Municipality - Agency for Nursing Homes; Norway

Moving care and treatment closer to the patient’s home is high on the agenda across health systems worldwide. This shift promises greater patient safety, quality of care, and sustainability – but it requires rethinking how hospitals, primary care, municipalities, social services, and patients themselves work together. True cross-sector partnerships are essential to break down silos, align goals, and ensure continuity of care.

In this session, we will explore real-world examples and practical strategies for creating these partnerships. How do we establish trust between sectors with different funding streams, professional cultures, and priorities? What models of integrated care show evidence of success? And how can patients and families be included as equal partners in designing new care pathways?


After this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify key enablers and barriers to moving care closer to patients’ homes.
• Describe leadership models of cross-sector collaboration that improve safety, quality, and patient experience.
• Recognize leading strategies for engaging patients, families, and communities as true partners.
  Apply lessons from international case studies to their own context.
  

Part 1 - Leading collaborative change: principles of consensus decision making for healthcare quality improvement

This workshop will introduce principles of consensus decision making as a tool for healthcare quality improvement (QI). The consensus decision making framework emphasizes a collaborative approach, where all stakeholders actively shape decisions. It was developed by grassroots organizations and adapted in the context of a leadership development group, bringing together individuals with a wide range of experiences with race, class, and healthcare. Through interactive exercises, participants will learn to apply the framework in real-world healthcare settings, where the aim is to engage diverse voices, resolve conflicts, and work toward a shared goal of improving healthcare quality. Attendees will leave with practical skills for fostering collaborative decision making in their own organizations, improving team engagement, project outcomes, and leadership effectiveness.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles and benefits of consensus decision making in healthcare quality improvement.
• Apply consensus decision-making techniques to engage stakeholders and resolve conflicts in QI projects.
• Enhance leadership skills by fostering collaboration and alignment within teams to achieve sustainable change.
  

Michelle Hamline University of California Davis; USA
Zachary Psick  We Are All Students; USA

Part 2 - Acting as one system: a shared journey for the benefit of citizens

Our societal systems are built in parts, but people live in the whole. To meet the needs of the future, we need shared perspectives on what we solve together, what benefits from local adaptation, and how we maintain coherence across the system. Welcome to an inspiring presentation where we share experiences from a dialogue journey across the region – a journey where politicians, managers, and citizens came together across organizational boundaries to explore the question: What is best for Esther?

The journey has led to new insights, strengthened relationships, and a deeper sense of system awareness. These insights are now taking shape in strategic documents and shared declarations of intent, clarifying how we align our resources around citizens’ needs – and how, through collective action, we take responsibility and act as one system. Susan Hannah will reflect on the Jönköping journey from the perspective as Strategic Partner with IHI.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the importance of systems thinking for the benefit of the citizen - Participants will be able to explain why shifting from fragmented structures to a more integrated, whole-system perspective is essential in public services.
• Identify what requires joint solutions and what benefits from local adaptation - Participants will be able to discuss the balance between standardization and local flexibility in order to maintain coherence and relevance for individuals.
• Explore practical methods for dialogue and co-creation - Participants will gain insights into how inclusive dialogues – between politicians, managers, and citizens – can build trust, shared understanding, and common ground.
• Reflect on how relationships and collaboration strengthen system awareness - Participants will be able to describe how strengthened cross-boundary relationships contribute to increased system understanding and improved solutions.
  
• Apply principles of collective responsibility in their own context - Participants will be inspired to translate strategic insights and shared intentions into concrete actions within their own roles and environments.

Anette Nilsson Region Jönköping County; Sweden
Jane Ydman Region Jönköping County; Sweden
Mats Bojestig  Region Jönköping County; Sweden
Malena Tovesson  Region Jönköping County; Sweden
Karin Hermansson Region Jönköping County; Sweden
Susan Hannah IHI; Scotland