As people get older, it becomes more likely that they will need day-to-day help with activities such as washing and dressing, or help with household activities such as cleaning and cooking. This type of support (along with some types of medical care) is what is called long-term care.

Demand for long-term care is expected to rise, thanks in part to ageing populations and increasing prevalence of long-term conditions such as dementia.

The OECD has been at the forefront of analysis on long-term care since 2005, reviewing and providing best practices on several key areas:

• How can countries ensure that the elderly live a long and healthy life and that care needs are delayed?
  
• How can the quality of care be improved in long-term care and for people with dementia in particular?
• How is long-term care provided across countries and who are the workers?
• How can countries ensure a more efficient distribution of the costs of long-term care across public and private means?
• How can countries provide appropriate palliative care at the end of life?

SOCIAL PROTECTION

WORKFORCE

DEMENTIA

END-OF-LIFE CARE‌

Improving home care for the elderly in Croatia

The Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy of Croatia has requested technical assistance from the European Commission and the OECD to support the reform process and develop non-institutional forms of elderly care, particularly in elderly person’s homes and in local communities, allowing the elderly to live in their own environment as long as possible.
The project assesses the demand of the elderly in need of care, the characteristics and care provided by informal carers as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the current home care benefit and service provision.
As part of the project, the OECD designed and carried out a survey and focus group discussions to gain a better understanding of the availability of formal and informal care provision across the country and the extent of unmet needs of the elderly according to the socio-demographic characteristics. The OECD also analysed best practices in EU countries to support informal carers and provided a recommendation report to implement home care reforms for the elderly.
The project ended on March 2021 and a dissemination event was organised on March 26, 2021 with key national stakeholders and experts.