Willingness and preparedness to provide care: interviews with individuals of different ages and with different caregiving experiences

Background: At present, the provision of informal care to older relatives is an essential pillar of the long-term care system in Germany. However, the impact of demographic and social changes on informal caregiving remains unclear. Methods: Thirty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with care consultants, informal caregivers and people without any caregiving experience to explore if people are willing to provide older adult care and how prepared these are with regard to the possibility of becoming care dependent themselves. Results: In total, three main categories (willingness to provide care, willingness to receive care and information as preparation) with several sub-categories were identified during the content analysis. While almost all interviewees were willing to provide care for close family members, most were hesitant to receive informal care. Other factors such as the available housing space, flexible working hours and the proximity of relatives were essential indicators of a person’s preparedness to provide informal care. It is, however, unclear if care preferences change over time and generations. Six out of 12 informal caregivers and nine out of 14 care consultants also reported an information gap. Because they do not possess adequate information, informal caregivers do not seek help until it is too late and they experience high physical and mental strain. Despite the increased efforts of care consultants in recent years, trying to inform caregivers earlier was seen as almost impossible. Conclusions: The very negative perception of caregiving as a burden was a reoccurring theme throughout all interviews and influenced people’s willingness to receive care as well as seeking timely information. Despite recent political efforts to strengthen home-based care in Germany, it remains unclear whether political efforts will be effective in changing individuals’ perceptions of informal caregiving and their willingness to be better prepared for the highly likely scenario of having to care for a close relative or becoming care dependent at a later stage in life.