IN-CARE How are varying care systems associated with inequalities in care and wellbeing in later life?

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Ageing societies and recent reforms to long-term care (LTC) in many European countries are likely to make informal care by kin and nonkin increasingly critical for fulfilling the care needs of older people. To date, it is unknown whether informal care falls disproportionately on disadvantaged populations, and the consequences for the wellbeing of care recipients and their carers are poorly understood. The proposed research examines if and how LTC reforms exacerbate existing social disparities in care and in caregiver and care recipient wellbeing. To this end, this project compares the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in formal and informal care and its impact on wellbeing across Europe and Japan. This objective is studied a) in context (across nations and regions with different care systems and within countries over time) using an updated set of indicators of LTC policies; b) from the perspectives of both the care recipient and the informal caregiver; c) through a focus on quality of care; and d) by carrying out policy evaluation natural experiments. A better understanding of the consequences of different care policies for inequalities in care, and caregiver and care recipient wellbeing, will inform debate on the potential impact of future policy decisions. The project team combines expertise on LTC arrangements, informal care, and cross-national analyses from demographic, sociological, gerontological, epidemiological and health economic perspectives.