Abstract
This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the challenges facing informal carers today and in the near future. This chapter tackles the issue of whether the current picture of informal caregiving in Europe is likely to hold in the future and how the different public policies may impact carers. It also represents the recognition of the role of carers, which may in turn lead to the improvement of their social status and well-being. Lastly, this chapter looks at policies which provide leaves from work that can, to some extent, improve the conciliation of their care tasks with gainful employment. The current picture of informal care may be in a state of flux driven precisely by changes in demographics, living arrangements and the labour market participation of women of working age that today make up a substantial part of informal carers. Although governments have gradually recognised the critical role played by carers, current policies will need to accommodate for changes in the profile of informal carers.
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Notes
- 1.
Activities of daily living consist of everyday tasks of bathing, dressing, moving around in the house, eating, using the bathroom and controlling bladder and bowel. This personal care may be provided together with medical services, i.e. nursing care, such as medication, wound dressing, palliative care, monitoring of health condition and rehabilitation.
- 2.
One important caveat to this concerns the uncertainties surrounding the evolution of disability trends in old age, which would impact the number of dependent older people and the health status of older carers.
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Hoffmann, F., Huber, M., Rodrigues, R. (2013). Policies to Support Carers. In: Moreno Minguez, A. (eds) Family Well-Being. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 49. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4354-0_12
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