Research Projects
Living Independently at Home: Reforms in Organisation and Governance of European Home Care for Elderly and Disabled People
The project analysed how 9 European countries have reformed their home help systems, by identifying the drivers of changes and responses in the organisation, provision, regulation and quality of home care/help. Hypotheses were that cross-national variation in reforms in home care policies 1) influence the involvement of different care sectors and the use of services vs. cash benefits, 2) shape the degree of formalisation/informalisation and the degree of professionalization, and 3) contribute to the quality of care.
The study was based on national legislation and statistics, national and international literature reviews, and on comparable OECD health data. The following countries participated: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Austria, UK and Ireland.
The study provided a timely overview of recent reforms in the
organisation and governance of home care systems in 9 European countries,
elucidating what are the intended and unintended results of the
reforms, in particular how reforms have affected quality of care.
Funding Agency: Ministère de la santé, de la jeunesse, des sports et de la
vie associative (France)
Type of Project: European collaborative research project led by The Danish
National Centre for Social Research
Timeframe: January 2010 to end 2011