Social care research: international cooperation is vital to prepare for future health shocks

Abstract

Ageing populations, rising costs, and depleted workforces globally mean it’s time to look beyond national borders to increase the resilience of long term care, writes Adelina Comas-Herrera? Providing sustainable, equitable, long term health and social care for people who need it is a major challenge worldwide because of increasing demand and costs. Some countries are making more progress than others, however. Learning from international experiences through comparative research and dialogue among policy makers could encourage innovative ways to bring much needed reform—and to increase system resilience to mitigate the impact of the next health system shock. A 1999 royal commission on long term care started a public discussion on how to respond to the UK’s ageing population and increasing need for long term care,1 and these needs will continue to grow.2 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned in 2011: “Facing up to these challenges requires a comprehensive vision of long-term care. Muddling through is not enough.”3 But despite these warnings “muddling through” exactly describes social care policy in the UK to date. Public funding has not kept pace with rising demand, and fewer than half of older people receive care they need, for example.4 Local authorities increasingly report concerns about inability to maintain services.5 Workforce gaps …