Informal Carers, Who Takes Care Of Them?

Until recently, informal care (provided by relatives and friends) has been overlooked by policy-mak­ers in the context of long-term care for dependent older people. Driven by concerns about the fiscal sustainability of long-term care servic­es and by more self-conscious and demanding carers' movements across countries, informal care has been brought into the limelight. Data on carers is still relatively scarce due in part to the nature of the care itself as it is often provided informally at home. In view of this, what do we know about informal carers and who benefits from them? Which country differences exist? Which policies are set in place to support them? This Policy Brief tries to shed light on these issues by using available data from (inter)national sources as well as qualitative information gathered in our recent publication "Facts and Figures on Long-term Care - Europe and North America". It seeks to increase knowledge on informal carers and discuss some of the implications surrounding social policies that impact them. The analysis is very much policy-oriented and takes a comparative view, focusing mostly on the wider Europe.



Informal care-giving provided by relatives and friends remains the backbone of care provision for the elderly and until recently it has been overlooked by policy-mak­ers in the context of long-term care for dependent older people. Concerns about the fiscal sustainability of long-term care servic­es and more self-conscious and demanding carers' movements across countries have pushed informal care into the limelight.



This Policy Brief highlights a series of societal, demographic and pol­icy developments that are likely to change informal care in its current form (i.e. mostly female relatives of working age). This should not necessarily be perceived as a potentially harmful evolution as the cur­rent arrangement probably does not suit many of today's carers who are overburdened with demanding care tasks.



The key issue that public policies should address is not to try to crystallise the current informal care arrangements, but rather to adapt to the changing conditions. Data on carers is still relatively scarce due in part to the nature of the care itself as it is often provided informally at home. In view of this, what do we know about informal carers and who benefits from them? Which country differences exist? Which policies are in place to support them? This Policy Brief sheds some light on these issues by using available data from (inter)national sources as well as qualitative information gathered in our recent publication "Facts and Figures on Long-term Care - Europe and North America".



The analysis is very much policy-oriented and takes a comparative view, focusing mostly on the wider Europe. It seeks to increase knowledge on informal carers and discuss some of the implications surrounding social policies that impact them. Policy-makers should ensure that the carers' own needs as much as those of the care recipi­ents are taken into consideration and met. As this Policy Brief shows, certain policies aimed at supporting carers come with trade-offs (such as balancing employment goals with financial support for carers) and these should be borne in mind when setting-up those measures



Source: European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research