Home Care for Older People in Europe: A Comparison of Policies and Practices (CEC Health Services Research Series)

The growing number of very old people and their present and future demands upon existing health and social service resources is of major concern among practitioners and policy makers throughout Europe. This book makes an important contribution to the debate about the future of care for this population group from a cross-national perspective. Policies in most countries stress the need for older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. Home care services, in particular home help, are one of the most important ingredients in the service mix necessary to achieve this goal. Chapters on individual countries describe the range and nature of service provision and discuss the effectiveness of home care policies and the major issues facing the future of home care provision. Three chapters address the issues from a comparative perspective, highlighting similarities and differences in provision and policies, and exploring ways of explaining the major differences.