Long-term care in Denmark and Lithuania : a most dissimilar case

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Danija (Denmark); Gerovės valstybės; Ilgalaikė globa; Ilgalaikė priežiūra Danijoje ir Lietuvoje - labiausiai skirtingas atvejis; Lithuania; Long-term care; Welfare states.

ENBy comparing the systems and development in Lithuania and Denmark, the article probes into differences and similarities in two countries with very different welfare states belonging to different welfare regimes and having very diverse economic and historical development of a specific social policy area – i.e. long-term care (LTC) for the elderly. Despite differences, there are also similarities in the understanding of what LTC is and could be in the future, given the economic pressure on welfare states. So despite being a country-based case analysis of a specific social service field, at the outset, seemingly dissimilar, the analysis also shows similarities especially in the expectation of the role of the civil society, and that the elderly will want to stay as long as possible in their own home. There is also expected pressure from demography change, and, especially, a possible pressure on women as they, more often than men, provide informal care and will have a higher risk of living alone when they become elderly. Lastly, the use of rehabilitation and re-enablement is a central parameter for a possible reduction in the pressure on spending as well as improving quality of life for the elderly. [From the publication]

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• Stakeholder collaboration in long-term care of older people in Lithuania / Virginija Poškutė, Rūta Kazlauskaitė, Irmina Matonytė. Health and social care in the community. 2022, 30, 1, p. 1-10.