Objective The aim of this article was to describe the results of a literature review focused on identifying the social care practices, characteristics, and trends in each country participating in the TEC-MED European Project. The review also centred on the most promising initiatives directed towards the dependent elderly and/or those at risk of social exclusion in the Mediterranean Basin countries.Method The study was conducted in two phases to achieve both the integrative literature review goal and a qualitative research consensus among the research team based on the documents found in the literature. The integrative review identified 10,940 documents between 2000 and 2019. A total of 10,107 documents were found in the Scopus, Pubmed and Cochrane library official databases and 833 from other sources. The 20 most promising initiatives were selected from the 347 articles finally included.Results To be successful, the model of socio-ethical care for older people who are dependent and/or at risk of social exclusion must be based on person-centred integrative care and follow a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, paying special attention to bio-psycho-social frailty. The elements to consider are as follow: quality, research and dissemination, the gender perspective, ethics, social inclusion and transcultural issues.Conclusion The social practices in the Mediterranean Basin and the 20 most promising initiatives shared common aspects that served as a basis to design the TECMED model.