Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T10:53:56.632Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Caring by Contract: Care Arrangements for Older People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2020

Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Recent years have seen a wide and increasing diffusion of care arrangements for older people. This development has arisen owing to the convergence of multiple factors related to the pan-European problem of an ageing population with increasing demands for care. Although, of course, older people are not necessarily dependent on others for continuous non-medical care, the passing of the years does mean that many will eventually, in various ways, require assistance in performing daily tasks. Not only is the population ageing, but fertility rates across Europe are dropping, leading to the elderly constituting a larger proportion of the overall population and charging the growing costs of elder care to a shrinking number of tax-payers. Moreover, the rise of the nuclear family model, consisting of only two generations, parents and children, living together, and the increasing number of people seeking and finding employment out of their birth town have been weakening the function of the family as primary support structure for older people. The raising of retirement age and the growth of women's work outside the home further contribute to the diminution of informal caregivers available. In addition, the growing level of women's education and income from paid employment increases the economic resources of the family, making it economically more attractive for families to have women working outside their household and to hire caregivers for children and older dependent persons.

Besides, the crisis of the modern Welfare State, worsened by the global economic crisis, has been causing a reduction of quality and quantity in social services. The introduction of the so-called welfare mix model, in which social services are supplied both by the municipalities themselves and by the private sector, has further stimulated the development of private care arrangements. The moving of the hospital health system towards assistance only for severe acute condition increases the demand for palliative treatments and general care of the sort frequently required by older non-dependent persons. Indeed, “care” encompasses not just diagnostic and therapeutic action, but all other aspects of preserving mental and physical well being.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Intersentia
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×