[Regional System of Integrated Health and Social Care for Elderly People: Experience and Expertise of Saint-Petersburg.].

The article examines the challenges of creating a system of integrated health and social care for elderly people (the System) in Russia, these challenges being of particular significance in the light of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life and mental and general health of elderly people, which need to be mitigated with due consideration of the dynamics of progression of age-associated chronic diseases of elderly people. The article describes the structure of the System, and the conditions and background of its establishment. It also looks at the components of system-based support of improvement of quality of life of elderly people. The article argues that it is essential to use the positive and negative experiences of different regions, to implement the practical and scientific expertise in the field of gerontology and geriatrics made so far in Russia, and to establish a meaningful and equal partnership among the state, research organizations, communities of professionals and non-public organizations. The authors suggest to look on Saint-Petersburg as a model region when establishing the System. The article contains a list of the major projects and events in the city from 2012 to 2020 aimed to provide system-based support for integrated health and social care for elderly people, not affiliated with any federal programs. Unbiased evaluation of the experience and expertise of Saint-Petersburg and other regions of Russia will allow to use them when establishing similar systems in other Russia's regions that do not possess sufficient resources. The authors suggest to establish the System in a step-wise manner at the federal district level. For example, a pilot project may be launched in the North-Western Federal District using the experience and expertise of Saint-Petersburg.