Web of science

Aim: We investigated whether the presence and characteristics of a family caregiver affect the use of formal long-term care under the new Korean long-term care system.

Background: In July 2008, Korea introduced public long-term care insurance, a form of social insurance, in order to cope with the reality of the growing elderly population and the increasing demand for long-term care.

Baby boomers will comprise a considerable share of tomorrow's older population. Previous research has indicated higher travel activity and car use amongst baby boomers than amongst older cohorts. However, little evidence exists on the effects of boomers' ageing on the transportation system. To analyse how retirement affects baby boomers' travel and the related future travel demand, we compared three groups, distinguished by employment status as ‘still working’, ‘early retirees’ and ‘recent retirees’, in a longitudinal setting.

Caring for an ill or disabled relative is a life experience shared by many women. Based on data from a representative sample of women in Israel, this study examined the demographic, employment, and health characteristics of women caregivers, focusing on the extent of care provided and its effect on the caregiver's physical and mental health. Using the conceptual framework of caregiving-related stress, we compared women who care for a parent, and women who care for another relative.

We analyze the relationship between health and the double burden of both informal care provision and full-time work using administrative data from the second biggest German sickness fund. We have information on more than 7000 caregivers over a period of three years and apply linear panel data and two-part models. As outcome measures we use detailed information on the prescription of five types of drugs. We find that individuals who provide care and also work full-time have a significantly higher consumption of antidepressant drugs and tranquilizers than those who work only.

In this study, based on longitudinal data, we investigate whether Japanese middle-aged men and women become less likely to have a job and whether their sense of well-being decreases when they have a family member who needs care. We find a consistent negative impact of having a family member who needs care on employment, but no impact on subjective health and life satisfaction.

As the number of older people in need of long-term care increases, efforts to support older people remaining in their home are intensified in most OECD countries. In this context, there is a movement towards allowing more individual choice for older people receiving publicly funded long-term care at home. Having more flexibility in terms of how to receive care can increase the older person's self-determination and that of his/her informal caregivers.

This article addresses the relationship between employment and providing informal care for sick, disabled, or elderly people in Great Britain. Hazard rate models for taking up caring and leaving work when caring are estimated using retrospective family, employment, and caring data from the British Family and Working Lives Survey 1994 - 1995 for 9,139 British men and women. Family roles but not employment characteristics were relevant for men and women taking up caring. Being in a lower social class was, however, an important predictor of female carers leaving the labor market.

Given the growth of care needs, the emphasis on informal care and the increasing labour force participation of women and senior workers, balancing employment and elderly care responsibilities is a crucial challenge. This qualitative study explores how and with what implications Italian senior workers combine work with care for older people. The results indicate that the impact of care responsibilities on work is limited and that employment has a buffer effect on overwhelming care responsibilities. By contrast the implications for private and family life are considerable.