The region of Castilla and Leon is particularly impacted by the challenge that rurality and ageing impose on the entire EU. Its low population density, high dispersity, rapid ageing and high life expectancy limit access to long-term care services, making them of poor quality and extraordinarily expensive, resulting in the unsustainability of the current way social and healthcare services are provided (mostly in residential and daily care facilities). The project team identified the need for accessible and adaptable care services that respond to the population’s requirements.

RuralCare is a European innovation project in social services consisting of the design, testing and evaluation of an innovative systemic approach for the provision of integrated long-term care adapted to people living in rural areas according to their individual values, wishes and preferences.