Use of standardized multidimensional evaluation tools and the emergence of the case manager's professional identity in France.

In France, the national public health plan proposes a group of innovations including the initiation of case management for older adults in complex situations, particularly those with cognitive disorders. In this context, public authorities asked case managers to use a standardized multidimensional evaluation tool. The results of a qualitative study on the pertinence of such a tool relative to the emergence of this new professional field are described. Early use of an evaluation tool seems to be linked to the emergence of a new professional identity for recently recruited case managers. Factors determining the strength of this link are training tool standardization, computerization, and local structure's involvement. Our results contribute to identifying one of the ways by which professional identity can be changed to become a case manager.