Evaluating case studies of community-oriented integrated care.

This paper summarises a ten-year conversation within London Journal of Primary Care about the nature of community-oriented integrated care (COIC) and how to develop and evaluate it. COIC means integration of efforts for combined disease-treatment and health-enhancement at local, community level. COIC is similar to the World Health Organisation concept of a Community-Based Coordinating Hub - both require a local geographic area where different organisations align their activities for whole system integration and develop local communities for health. COIC is a necessary part of an integrated system for health and care because it enables multiple insights into 'wicked problems', and multiple services to integrate their activities for people with complex conditions, at the same time helping everyone to collaborate for the health of the local population. The conversation concludes seven aspects of COIC that warrant further attention

Are American homeowners more satisfied with their lives than renters?

Researchers often find that homeownership is not associated with life satisfaction in the United States. Using the 2009–2010 Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, this study examines whether homeowners are more satisfied with their lives than renters in the following eight states: Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wisconsin. A positive relationship between homeownership and life satisfaction (approximately 0.06 points on a 4-point scale; p less than .01) is found, even when whether respondents are worried about having enough money to pay their rent or mortgage is controlled for. However, the positive effect of homeownership declines as the local house prices increase, indicating that homeowners in expensive areas tend to be less satisfied with their lives than homeowners in more affordable areas