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Long-term care report: Trends, challenges and opportunities in an ageing society

The 2021 Long-Term Care Report provides an overview of the state of play of long-term care systems in the EU and recent reforms, highlighting also first response measures taken during the pandemic. The report maps current and future demand for long-term care and gaps in accessing formal care, in the context of demographic changes, in particular the growing share of the older population and changes in the household structures and the labour market. It further reveals gaps in social protection coverage for long-term care and the impact these could have on the living standards of older people. While quality of long-term care is a common aspiration, the report reveals a diversity of approaches to defining and measuring quality. Despite significant job creation potential in the sector, staff shortages are quite common, also because of difficult working conditions. Finally, the report analyses long-term care financing and how it would evolve in the future, while also taking stock of the hidden costs of informal care.

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Author(s): 
Social Protection Committee and the European Commission
Year of Publication: 
2021
Workforce themes: 
Resource Type: 
Gray literature
Language: 
English