A Cross-National Comparative Study on the De-familialization in Caring for Older People: Focusing on the Location of Care

Abstract

This study aims to examine the degree of de-familialization in providing care for older people among countries by focusing on the location of care provided. Given the health consequences of informal caregiving and the preference of care receivers, the location of care constitutes a critical context that warrants scholarly attention. As the difference in care systems among countries might contribute to the outcomes of de-familialization, this article conducted fuzzy-set ideal type analysis to classify the 10 countries. Findings suggest four ideal types of de-familialization, and the degree of de-familialization in home care is closely associated with that in institutional care. We further identify the characteristics of the care system that make a high degree of de-familialization. These findings imply that care should be recognized by the state as a social right and that the effective care policy must be developed to support de-familialization.

Keywords

care burden home care institutional care caregiving fuzzy-set ideal type analysis (FSITA)

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