Comparing The Elderly Care Systems Across The World

Posted on Jan 22 2019 - 8:07am by Editorial Staff

Thanks to the quality of life that is improving and medical advancements, the human population in ageing. With that, it’s vital that elderly citizens are giving the quality of care as they reach their later years in order for them live comfortably and happy as they age. This level of care is different from country to country thought, as we explore in this article…

The UK Care System
Across the UK, staggered care is given to ease elderly citizens into accepting care. When individuals are beginning to struggle, perhaps with making meals or getting washed, they can access help from home. This is in the form of specially trained carers who visit those in need at their own homes to provide necessary care.

For the elderly population that require assistance in the UK, more and more specially designed homes and flat complexes are being built for them. These often have a community room where residents can socialise and a warden that is present during the day. The homes are specially designed for those who are less able, with non-slip floors, stairlifts and apparatus to help with getting up from the toilet and in and out of the shower.

Round the clock care is offered by nursing homes for the nation’s older citizens. None of the services are free, although some people aged over 65 get help towards the costs and others use their savings. At the moment, people with assets of more than £23,250 have to pay for the full cost of their care (this includes the value of their home).

Depending on the region of the UK, this system varies. For example, in Northern Ireland, care in the home is free for people over the age of 75. For over 65s in Scotland, personal care is free if they are assessed as needing help for tasks like washing, dressing and preparing meals.

The US care system
The US health care system consists of a largely private system, that’s covered by the elderly’s care insurance. There is also a programme called Medicaid that assists with medical costs for those with limited resources — covering nursing home care. This system pays for 61% of nursing-home residents’ care. Elderly care is a key consideration that must be made by many. In the US, 47% of men and 58% of women who are of or above retirement age will experience a need for long-term care in the future.

Almost 90% of senior citizens that were surveyed, wished to remain in their own homes as they get older. Care insurance often can assist with this, as it pays for home help such as the installing of stair lifts. depending on the layout of the property, as well as washing and cooking support. Even when elderly people begin to require day-to-day assistance such as getting dressed, only 4% said that they would prefer to move into a relatives’ home over staying in their own surroundings. Despite this low figure, 75% of adult children think about their parents’ abilities to live independently and presumably consider their future options. These children contribute between $7,000 and $14,000 per year to care for an ageing parent.

Nursing home are also an option across the US for the nation’s elderly citizens. Many of these are funded by private healthcare. 11.2% of women over the age of 85 lived in a nursing home in 2014 and this figure stood at 6.1% for men of the same age group.

The Canadian care system
2016 statistics had revealed that the number of over 65s in Canada outnumbers the population of under 15s for first time with 16.9% to 16.6%. When looking at health expenditure as a whole, Canada has invested more funds into drugs rather than hospitals and physicians over the past 30 years and this could count towards their aging population.

As a result of taxing, Canada’s healthcare system is largely publicly funded. The capital of Canada, Ottawa, promised to spend $6 billion over the next decade in order to address their aging population and help with home-care programmes — a move that should help the nation’s elderly citizens make their properties more accessible through the installation of such features as a disabled stairlift and aids to assist them in the bathroom and kitchen.

Nurses are highly dependent on by the elderly throughout Canada too. This is causing more pressure on nurses and carers and the demand for these workers is predicted to rise from just under 64,000 full-time jobs to 142,000 by 2035. Perhaps these stretched resources are the reason why more Canadians are taking on the role of caregiver and offering informal care for their own parents. In fact, 30% of workers with older parents take 450 hours per year of time off work — putting a strain on their own careers and on employers.

The Italian care system
Throughout Italy, the elderly care system differs. The care of elders is said to be the responsibility of a person’s family and therefore care homes are not as popular as in other countries (less than 2% of the senior population use care home services). In fact, Italian institutions often only intervene if the person has no family to care of them.

It was once a tradition in Italy for women to provide care to their older family members. However, they are now taking up employment and their time is spent working instead — creating a greater reliance on public care facilities. The mentality of family care was evident in 2004 when the majority of Italians thought that it would be beneficial if adult children looked after their older parents when they became reliant. It is likely that this mentality has continued many years later.

Unlike most nations, Italy doesn’t have as much as a staggered care system. This means that elderly people who are fairly fit live in regular homes that have not been adjusted for needs of the older generation. However, in the 1990s, a greater focus was given to elderly people and their specific needs. This saw the introduction of a new framework which includes home care, day centres and nursing homes and now, over 5% of older Italians use home care services.

The Belgium care system
The majority of care that’s available to Belgium’s older citizens is offered to the via a public system. This system is funded by social contributions and general taxes. There is also a large amount of informal care that is offered by family members of elderly residents. The general aim amongst Belgians is to keep the older generation in their own homes, comfortably, for as long as possible.

As well as other nations, Belgium have a staggered health care system too with ‘service flats’. This is where elderly people can live within their own space but have access to useful facilities such as home help and cooked meals if they need it. There is also the option of day care and short stay centres and this provides families with some respite from care.

‘Kangaroo housing’, is a well-established initiative throughout Belgium. This has been around for 30 years and involves older people living together with immigrant families in the same house on separate floors. The immigrant family help the elderly person out if they are ever in need. One project was launched in a Belgian district called Molenbeek where 60% of the population are immigrants and 25% are retired.  It can benefit both parties in terms of improving their sense of belonging in the community and overall well-being.

The German Care System
Another nation with an ageing population is Germany. Recent predictions suggest that there will be more than 23 million citizens over the age of 65 between 2035.

The country has a standout imitative across it, involving refugees and elderly citizens. Between 2015 and 2016, 1.2 million asylum seekers entered Germany, most aged between 18 and 34 years old. A training scheme is in place where refugees are being taught how to care for the elderly. This addresses their aging population and the immigrants who are looking for work.

Another scheme in Germany is Cohabiting. When surveyed, 82% of Germans said that they did not want to grow old in a nursing home. Grants that were introduced in January 2013 allow the elderly to live in a community apartment with one another, cohabiting and socialising when they want to. This decreases their likelihood of becoming lonely without placing them in a full-time care home.

We’d also like to mention the multigeneration houses. These structures are made up of a kindergarten, a social centre for the elderly and somewhere for young families to drop in for socialising or support. Pensioners can volunteer to read to the children and interact with them through singing and games.

It is very much clear that care systems for the older generation certainly differ from one country to the next, and we wonder what the future holds for our older generations? Innovative concepts such as elderly friendly supermarkets and villages are popping up in some places, as countries continue to reach out to older people and try to improve their quality of life.

Sources

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/19/world/europe/german-senior-citizens/index.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/who-will-care-for-americas-seniors/391415/

http://www.iyhusa.com/AginginPlaceFacts-Data.htm

http://time.com/5027076/dignity-death-and-americas-crisis-in-elder-care/

https://www.statista.com/topics/3982/nursing-homes-in-the-us/

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-system/canada.html

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-italy-elderly-care

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/caring-parents-costs-1.4101277

http://www.transforming-care.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TP19_Lamura.pdf

https://www.west-info.eu/kangaroo-houses-help-belgiums-elderly-and-immigrants/

http://www.ancien-longtermcare.eu/sites/default/files/ENEPRI%20RR%2070%20ANCIEN%20Belgian.pdf

http://www.dw.com/en/german-organization-prepares-refugees-to-care-for-the-elderly/a-39699605

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/germany-multigeneration-house-solve-problems-britain http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30902552

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.