Factors Worsening and Mitigating the Consequences of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Overall Health of Informal Caregivers of Older People with Long-Term Care Needs Living in Germany and in Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(3)2022 02 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1667168
ABSTRACT
Population ageing and the higher prevalence of multimorbidity in later life are increasing the demand for Long-Term Care (LTC) worldwide; this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As in Europe and beyond, the bulk of care for frail older people is carried out by informal caregivers. This study aimed at understanding the factors affecting the overall worsening health of informal caregivers of older people with LTC needs living in Germany and Italy during the outbreak. To this purpose, 319 informal caregivers (149 in Germany and 173 in Italy) were surveyed online in 2020-2021. A logistic regression analysis was performed by country, to obtain an adjusted estimate of the risk of worsening of caregivers' health. This risk increased by 42% for German caregivers compared to Italian ones, despite the former receiving more formal services. This may depend on different quality standards of LTC services and caregivers' expectations, and on differing policies concerning migrant care workers (MCWs) during the outbreak, who could not enter Germany and were "trapped" at care recipients' homes in Italy. Results call for in-home care reforms and policies guaranteeing more effective caregiver support, home care services and fairer working condition for MCWs in both countries.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Caregivers
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19031694
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