Background: The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview on the current state of published research on case management (CM) according to the definition of the German Association of Care and Case Management (DGCC) for individuals 65 years and older in Germany.
Material and methods: A systematic literature search was carried out for CM studies according to the DGCC in Germany since 2000 including individuals aged 65 years and older.
Results: Of the 249 abstracts retrieved a total of 14 evaluation and intervention studies of 10 different projects fulfilled the inclusion criteria. According to the results of the five evaluation studies, CM was feasible and barriers to implementation as well as satisfaction and positive effects of CM were described. The quality and outcome criteria of the intervention studies were heterogeneous. The results of the intervention studies can be interpreted as CM having positive effects on, for example hospital admissions and mortality.
Conclusion: Only few and qualitatively heterogeneous studies are currently available on the intervention effects of CM in Germany among this age group. So far robust scientific evidence of this method in Germany seems to be lacking.