Policy sciences

Rates of informal home care use among older adults with disabilities increased from 2004 to 2016, such that in 2016 almost three-quarters of these adults received informal home care. Informal care remains the most common source of home care, even though formal home care use grew at almost twice the rate, with a 6-percentage-point increase to 36.9 percent in 2016.

The number of informal carers for frail elderly people is set to fall steeply. Jean-Marie Robine and colleagues propose a new way to assess the trend that should help policy makers plan for the deficit

This article advocates incorporating biographical narratives into social work practice involving older lesbian, gay and bisexual service users. Offering a critique of ‘sexuality-blind’ conditions in current policy and practice, the discussion draws on qualitative data to illustrate the potential benefits of narrative approaches for both practitioners and service users.

For this special issue, the latest research findings on the topic of families living with parental psychiatric disabilities were solicited and compiled, to inform policymakers and practitioners with the best research available, while informing researchers about new developments in the field.