The research project ‘Changes in the provision of care for loss of independence and the choices made by older people’ aims to examine the role of the provision of care for loss of independence in the choices made by older people regarding care arrangements.
The ageing population is a concern for public policy-makers. The number of people requiring assistance is expected to rise over the coming years. Conversely, there are pressures on the supply of care services. It is observed that the number of beds in care homes has grown slowly, as has the number of services offering home care for older people, partly due to the low attractiveness of careers in long-term care. Conversely, the use of care homes or professional care has increased only slightly. To date, it has not been clearly established whether this minimal change in the use of such services is linked to an insufficient, unsuitable or even overly expensive supply, to a change in the care needs of older people, or to a shift in their preferences.
