The European Commission has published a new report, undertaken by the European Social Policy Analysis Network (ESPAN), examining long-term care (LTC) settings for older people in 38 countries (EU27 countries, nine (potential) candidate countries, as well as Iceland and Norway).
The report aims to gain a better understanding of the nature of LTC settings for people aged 65+ across Europe by drawing on national reports prepared by the 38 ESPAN country teams. It provides:
A comparative overview of formal LTC, describing residential care, home care and community-based care settings, their key characteristics, geographical imbalances and emerging care models.
A critical assessment of how the organisational structure, governance and funding of LTC systems shape the availability of different care settings and the real scope for personal choice.
A review of recent and ongoing LTC reforms.
Some key findings include:
All EU countries provide residential care, home care and community-based care services, with a strategic shift in most of them from institutional models towards more person-centred and community-based approaches, including technology-enabled options.
Access to residential care, home care and community-based care services varies between and within EU countries.
Almost all EU countries are developing innovative and hybrid approaches to LTC that integrate residential care, home care or community-based care components.
In many EU countries, care arrangements are more often shaped by constraints (such as limited availability of services, territorial disparities, workforce shortages and affordability barriers) than by the preferences of older people and their families.
In most EU countries, a key structural challenge for LTC systems is the fragmentation of responsibilities between different levels of government and between the health and social sectors.
The report concludes with policy pointers for expanding and diversifying LTC service provision, enhancing governance and quality, improving affordability, addressing funding challenges and regional disparities, and modernising LTC through technology and innovation.
The full report is available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b0f9d445-21eb-11f1-8c3a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
