Providing informal care in a changing society

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Social Policy
• Sociology of Health and Illness

Background:

• Societal aging necessitates reforms in long-term care policy.
• Reduced professional care increases demand for informal care from family and non-kin.
• Demographic shifts like changing family structures may limit informal care supply.

Approach:

• Developed a behavioral model of individual caregiving, the Informal Care Model.
• The model identifies factors influencing caregiving intention and provision.
• Analyzed policy and societal impacts on informal care mechanisms.

Key Points:

• Caregiving intention is influenced by attitudes, relationship quality, beliefs, and barriers.
• Actual care provision depends on social context: family, network, and community.
• Policy and societal trends can positively or negatively affect informal care.

Conclusions:

• Increased need for home care suggests more individuals will become caregivers.
• This contributes to larger and more diverse informal care networks.
• Empirical testing of the Informal Care Model is needed across diverse contexts.