Defining responsibility for care: approaches to the care of older people in six European countries

This article examines the social care of older people in six contrasting European countries. Family, institutional and community care are compared, focusing on vulnerability, empowerment and the gatekeeping of resources. The article considers the position of older people in each care system by presenting individual case studies. The six countries include the family-oriented systems of Ireland, Italy and Greece, and the individual-oriented systems of Denmark, Norway and England. To improve the care of older people in any of these welfare cultures, resources need to be developed that work with existing sources of care but extend the rights of older people, at, least to assessment and an equitable matching of needs to the care services available. Overall, the different levels of provision of organised social care services are a major aspect of inequality within and between the countries. Whilst there is little prospect for any major policy transfer across national boundaries, there is potential for selective cross-national learning with regard to particular service developments.