Long-term care provision in Europe: Results of a desk research study

Abstract

This paper describes the provision of long-term care across Europe based on data gathered in a desk research. The aim is: (1) to identify indicators of long-term care provision; and (2) to compare the provision of formal and informal care across the European countries. For this purpose, a narrative literature review was carried out to identify relevant indicators. Subsequently, a descriptive analysis was performed to analyse the indicator-related data. The results suggested that there are important differences in the long-term care provision in Europe. Long-term care is provided both at public and private institutions. The entitlement criteria vary among countries. In general, Western and Northern European countries have more generous provision of residential care compared to Eastern and Southern European countries. At the same time, informal care has different roles and it is extremely important in Eastern and Southern European countries. Among all countries, more than half have quality assurance regulations for residential care. However, most of the Southern and Eastern European countries lack information about the quality assurance regulations. In order to monitor the long-term care provision, it is recommended that European countries establish a reporting system to provide annual data. These annual data should be based on identical measurement mechanisms and standardised reporting structure to allow for comparison and improvements of long-term care systems.