Social Care in Europe

Abstract

This chapter considers the range of responses to needs for ‘social care’ in Europe’s ageing societies, including the responsibilities of family members and the coverage and intensity of formal, organized social care services. Social care encompasses personal care such as washing and dressing, practical assistance with the preparation of meals and house cleaning, and opportunities for socializing and leisure activity. The extent to which any person needs help with these activities of daily living depends on their level of disability or mental health problems, and the environment in which they live. The term ‘social care’ is used to distinguish this type of assistance from medical or nursing care, although the distinction is not always helpful when considering the total care needs of an older person, nor necessarily evident in the care systems of some countries. It has also shifted over time: in the UK, for example, the growing extent of charges for social care since the early 1980s has been used to reduce pressure on free health services by redefining tasks such as bathing and even ‘general nursing’ as social care (Twigg, 1997; Loux, Kerrison and Pollock, 2000; see also Chapter 5).