Long-term care systems in comparative perspective: Care needs, informal and formal coverage, and social impacts in European countries

This chapter provides an overview of long term care (LTC) policies in Europe and other OECD countries in order to contextualize the findings presented in the other chapters of the book. While the individual country case studies outlined in subsequent chapters offer detailed accounts of LTC policies in various countries throughout Europe, this chapter develops a broad framework based on comparative statistical data, which in turn sets out the general background to transformations that have taken place in recent years with respect to both the demand for and the institutional responses to LTC. This chapter is organized around four themes central to the organization of LTC in Europe: the characteristics and the changing demands of LTC recipients; the organization of informal care; the organization of public (statutory) support; and the impacts of the various “care regimes” on users and their informal carers.