Policies to support informal care
Policies to support informal care
Informal care is a significant source of support for dependent adults. Therefore, policies need to address its potential benefits and costs to care recipients, family carers and society at large. In this context, the purpose of this chapter is threefold: to classify policies supporting informal care and to introduce their major building blocks; to illustrate changes in policy logics and instruments over time and to review the empirical research on the success of specific approaches. Over the past 15 years European care regimes, including policies to support informal care, seem to have moved closer together. Several countries now apply dual approaches. Evidence on the effectiveness of support measures is still scarce. Caregiver education and respite care appear effective. The impact of support measures varies by intervention characteristics and subgroups of carers. Studies point to a gap between the support desired by informal carers and what is being offered to them. Support should be tailored to the specific needs of subgroups of carers and guided by systematic evaluation.
Keywords: informal care, family care, carer, carer support, care regimes, long term care policy, co producer, co client, cost effectiveness
Policy Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
