title: Valuing and Integrating Informal Care as a Core Component of Long-Term Care for Older People: A Comparison of Recent Developments in Italy and Spain.
abstract: The international long-term care (LTC) debate has recently been focusing on how to strengthen home care provision. In this regard, a major role has been played by informal care and how to best integrate it in a holistic care approach. Italy and Spain, usually labeled as "familialist" or "family-based" care models, have been promoting national reforms or actions to support the integration of "informal" actors into the overall LTC system. Through a comparative review of recent trends observed in the two care regimes, this article aims at contributing to improve our cross-national understanding of how LTC is changing across Europe, identifying the basic approaches adopted in Italy and Spain and highlighting both their strengths and drawbacks.
authors.affiliation: a Research Fellows, Center for Socioeconomic Research on Aging , INRCA-National Institute of Health & Science on Aging , Ancona , Italy.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casanova
authors.affiliation: b Head of Center, Social Gerontologist , Center for Socioeconomic Research on Aging, INRCA-National Institute of Health & Science on Aging , Ancona , Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lamura
authors.affiliation: a Research Fellows, Center for Socioeconomic Research on Aging , INRCA-National Institute of Health & Science on Aging , Ancona , Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Principi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013030:Spain
keywords: Informal care; Italy; Spain; long-term care