Conceptual framework for acute community health care services: Illustrated by assessing the development of services in Denmark

Acute community health care services can support continuity of care by acting as a bridge between the primary
and secondary health care sectors in the early detection of acute disease and provision of treatment and care.
Although acute community health care services are a political priority in many countries, the literature on their
organization and effect is limited.

We present a conceptual framework for describing acute community health care services that can be used to
support the policies and guidelines for such services. For illustrative purposes, we apply the framework to the
Danish acute community health care services using implementation data from 2020 and identify gaps and op-
portunities for learning.

The framework identifies two key pairs of dimensions: (1) capacity & capability, and (2) coordination &
collaboration. These dimensions, together with the governance structure and quality assurance initiatives, are of
key importance to the effect of acute community health care services. While all Danish municipalities have
implemented acute community health care services, application of the framework indicates considerable vari-
ation in their approaches.

The conceptual framework provides a systematic approach supporting the development, implementation,
evaluation, and monitoring of acute community health care services and can assist policymakers at both national
and local levels in this work.