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Older people – recipients but also providers of informal care: an analysis among community samples in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- MCGEE Hannah M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 16(5), September 2008, pp.548-553.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Data on both the provision and receipt of informal care among populations of older adults are limited. Patterns of both informal care provided and received by older adults in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI) were evaluated. A cross-sectional community-based population survey was conducted. Randomly selected older people (aged 65+, n = 2033, mean age (standard deviation): 74.1 years (6.8), 43% men, 68% response rate) provided information on the provision and receipt of care, its location, and the person(s) who provided the care. Twelve per cent of the sample (251/2033) identified themselves as informal caregivers (8% RoI and 17% NI). Caregivers were more likely to be women, married, have less education and have less functional impairment. Forty-nine per cent reported receiving some form of care in the past year. Care recipients were more likely to be older, married, have more functional impairment, and poorer self-rated health. Receiving regular informal care (help at least once a week) from a non-resident relative was the most common form of help received. Five per cent (n = 102/2033) of the sample reported both providing and receiving informal care. Levels of informal care provided by community-dwelling older adults were notably higher than reported in single-item national census questions. The balance of formal and informal health and social care will become increasingly important as populations age. It is essential, therefore, to evaluate factors facilitating or impeding informal care delivery.
Frailty: a costly phenomenon in caring for elders with cognitive impairment
- Authors:
- BUTLER Aine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 31(2), 2016, pp.161-168.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: Dementia draws on a variety of public and private resources. There is increasing pressure to define the cost components in this area to improve resource allocation and accountability. The aim of this study was to characterize frailty in a group of cognitively impaired community-dwelling elders and evaluate its relationship with cost and resource utilization. Methods: The study assessed a cross-sectional, convenient sample of 115 cognitively impaired patients of age >55 years who attended the National Memory Clinic in St James' University Hospital, a Trinity College-affiliated hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Participants had a clinical diagnosis of possible Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment. Frailty was measured using the biological syndrome model. Formal health and social care costs and daily informal caregiving costs were collected and the total costs of care estimated by applying the appropriate unit cost estimate for each resource activity. Stepwise regression models were constructed to establish the factors associated with increased care costs. Results: Patient dependence, frailty and number of co-morbid illnesses explained 43.3% of the variance in observed daily informal care costs in dementia and cognitively impaired patients. Dependence was the sole factor retained in an optimal model explaining 19% of the variance in formal health and social care costs. Conclusion: Frailty retained a strong association with daily informal care costs even in the context of other known risk factors for increasing care costs. Interventions that reduce frailty as well as patient dependence on others may be associated with cost savings. (Edited publisher abstract)
Livindhome: living independently at home: reforms in home care in 9 European countries
- Authors:
- ROSTGAARD Tina, et al
- Publisher:
- Danish National Centre for Social Research
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 252p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Copenhagen
This report presents findings from the project Living Independently at Home: Reforms in organisation and governance of European home care for older people and people with disabilities (LIVINDHOME). The study provides an overview of recent and current reforms in the organisation and governance of home care systems in nine European countries, and analyses the intended and unintended results of these reforms, in particular, how the reforms have affected the organisation, supply and quality of care. The focus of the study is home care for older people and for people with disabilities. In countries that have more family-oriented welfare traditions (Austria, Germany, Italy, Ireland), comprehensive approaches to long-term care have started to develop only relatively recently. Despite increases in funding for long-term care, home care provision in Italy and Ireland remains highly fragmented, with major local variations in access to services. The second group of countries (Denmark, England, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) have had more or less comprehensive home care services in place for many years. These have been delivered by local authorities under a legislative framework set by central government. Reforms have here involved the introduction of market- and consumer-related mechanisms into the supply and delivery of home care.
Future of care services in Ireland: old answers to new challenges?
- Authors:
- TIMONEN Virpi, MCMENAMIN Iain
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 36(1), February 2002, pp.20-35.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Until recently, the small proportion of older people in the Irish population and low labour-market participation rates among women provided the underpinnings of the informal care model in Ireland. However, changes in family structures, women’s labour market participation and population ageing are making this model less sustainable. Provides a detailed analysis of policy changes and initiatives in the area of care provision which show that while the challenges facing the system are new, most of the solutions provided continue to rely on the model of home-based care.
Working carers: international perspectives on working and caring for older people
- Editor:
- PHILLIPS Judith
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 169p.,tables,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Presents different perspectives on working carers who care for older people. The publication aims to reflect on the different stages in the development of this issue by looking first at the British perspective; then Europe and finally looking at developments in North America.
Paying for care: lessons from Europe
- Authors:
- GLENDINNING Caroline, McLAUGHLIN Eithne
- Publisher:
- HMSO/Great Britain. Social Security Advisory Committee
- Publication year:
- 1993
- Pagination:
- 169p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Comparative study looking at financial support for informal carers which has been introduced in some developed countries in the light of demographic trends experienced across Europe.
Caring for older Europeans: comparative studies in 29 countries
- Author:
- GIARCHI George Giacinto
- Publisher:
- Arena
- Publication year:
- 1996
- Pagination:
- 547p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Provides a reference source for various modes of care (both formal and informal) for older people throughout Europe. Each chapter follows the same format and covers: demography; socio-political and administrative background; social security and pensions; housing; health care; mental health care; residential care; personal social services; voluntary care agencies and support organisations; leisure pursuits and education; and older people in rural areas.