Impact of welfare state on care mix and providers

Austria and Slovenia have taken thus far different approaches in terms of supporting long-term care needs of frail older people. While the family is supposed to be the main provider of care in both countries, in Austria this role is supported by generous cash benefits; while in Slovenia families are the carers by default given the limited availability of publicly funded benefits (cash or services) to frail older people and their families. The main research question that DET_CAREMIX aims to answer is how frail older people residing in the community and their families make choices regarding the care mix (informal vs formal care or a combination of both) and care tasks in view of the different policy contexts present in Slovenia and Austria. More specifically, we are interested to study differences in the choices made by people according to differences in gender, socio-economic background (e.g. education, income) and access to social networks in the two countries and see whether public policies play a role in these differences. To address the main research question of DET_CAREMIX we will use a mix of complementary methods. Firstly, we will use quantitative research methods, namely statistical analysis of data from a comparative survey of older people in Slovenia and Austria (SHARE survey) and data from the first representative survey of providers and users of social home-care services in Slovenia. Subsequently, we will conduct and analyse 55 semi-structured in-depth interviews with older users of care or their families in each country. DET_CAREMIX will make an original contribution to the understanding of how people from different gender, socio-economic condition and social network characteristics make their choices under different types of public policies for long-term care. This will be relevant also to understand the causes of possible inequalities in the use of different types of care services for older people. By contribution to a better understanding of the choices of frail older people and their families, the findings will have direct relevance for policy-makers, allowing them to better allocate public money and target policies and to address unwanted inequalities in access or non-take up of different types of care. Given the impact of informal care provision on the carers health and employment, the findings of the DET_CAREMIX will also prove relevant to informal carers and users of care.

No additional funding sources recorded.