Conclusions
As we gain a deeper understanding of the needs of different subgroups of caregivers, it is increasingly clear that a range of services must be developed to meet their heterogenous needs and those of their frail older relatives. There is by now a very large, truly international body of literature attesting to the negative effects which caregiving can have on the carer’s own emotional and physical health. (One ofAgeing International’s first reviews of this cross-national literature appeared in the fall of 1980.)
In part because the research evidence is unassailable, policy-makers are increasingly heard expressing encouragement to and support of these caregivers. In no country, however, is there a consensus about the types and level of support to be provided, or how it will be financed. Part II of this article will provide an update on some of the policy options being examined in industrialized nations, as well as recent research findings that bear on the central policy question of which needs of the dependent elderly can best be met by informal carers and which by the formal service sector.
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Gibson, M.J., Nusberg, C. Caregiving in developed nations: Part I. Ageing International 13, 17–19 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02999035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02999035