The CROW project focuses on preventing social isolation among older adults and people with chronic conditions through a low-threshold, community-based approach. By implementing the Frome model for Compassionate Communities in Nesodden Municipality, the project aims to strengthen social networks, improve health outcomes, and reduce avoidable hospital admissions through closer integration of healthcare services and community resources.
Compassionate communities are communities in which residents, volunteers, services, and institutions work together to support people living with serious illness, dying, loss, and grief. Responsibility for care is shared between the healthcare system and the wider community, with the aim of strengthening quality of life, dignity, and social connectedness.
Objectives
Main objective
To assess the feasibility and implementation experiences of the Frome model in a Norwegian municipality, and to estimate its effects on health, social connectedness, and use of healthcare services.
Sub-objectives
- To implement and adapt the model in Nesodden through co-creation
- To examine effects on healthcare utilization and social connectedness
- To develop a transferable model for Compassionate Communities in Norway
Outcomes
Expected outcomes include:
- Reduced acute hospital admissions
- Increased social connectedness, reduced loneliness, and improved quality of life
- Scientific publications and open-access reports
- Tools, educational materials, and models for national implementation
Background
Social isolation is associated with an increased risk of illness, reduced quality of life, and higher use of healthcare services. With a rapidly ageing population and limited growth in the healthcare workforce, current service models are not sustainable. The Frome model has previously demonstrated reductions in hospital admissions and improved wellbeing in the United Kingdom, but has not yet been evaluated in a Norwegian context.
Sub-Projects
The project is organised into seven work packages (WPs):
- Mapping of community resources and development of a digital service directory
- General practitioner (GP) practices – identification and social prescribing
- Health Connectors – individual follow-up and interdisciplinary meetings
- Community Connectors – broad dissemination within the local community
- Effect studies (registry data and surveys)
- Model development and dissemination
- Project management
