Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-wxhwt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T10:07:49.778Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

One - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2022

Cristiano Gori
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Jose-Luis Fernandez
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Get access

Summary

has a long history of working with trauma. Long-term care (LTC) is a key policy priority for governments internationally. Most countries are faced with demographic and/or socioeconomic changes that are resulting in a significant growth in the need for LTC services. The impact of this higher demand on LTC systems is compounded by long-run increases in service unit costs and by reductions in the availability of unpaid care, which still provides the lion's share of the support for people with LTC needs. In addition, the rising political voice of key LTC consumer groups and the mounting pressure on public service budgets mean that LTC is likely to remain at the forefront of the political agenda across OECD nations for the foreseeable future.

Since the 1990s, LTC policies have undergone significant transformations across many countries. In some instances, these changes have been the outcome of major explicit policy goals. In others, new systems have come about through the accumulation of incremental changes. As a result, LTC policy reforms in the last decades across OECD countries offer a rich body of experience that should inform the design of future strategies for improving equity and efficiency in LTC. The main purpose of this book is precisely that: to analyse the range of solutions adopted internationally about how to organise, regulate and fund LTC services in the face of the growing needs of our ageing societies.

Scope of the book

It is important to clarify the boundaries of the analysis in this book given the national variability in the range of services and care needs associated with the LTC system. In this book, we adopt a definition used recently by the OECD, namely, ‘care for people needing support in many facets of living over a prolonged period of time … typically … help with so-called activities of daily living (ADL), such as bathing, dressing, and getting in and out of bed, which are often performed by family, friends and lower-skilled caregivers or nurses’ (Colombo et al, 2011, p 39). Whereas many LTC-related policies are introduced without reference to the dependent person's age, there are important differences in the need-related characteristics of care recipients in different age groups, for instance, in terms of their income and wealth, employment status, informal support and health profiles.

Type
Chapter
Information
Long-Term Care Reforms in OECD Countries
Successes and failures
, pp. 1 - 6
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2015

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 coreplatform@cambridge.org 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
×